Combined, Our Experts Have Over 100+ Years Experience with Employee Health Benefits, HR Staffing and Legal Compliance

The Employee Benefits Advisors Group works closely with small and mid-sized employers.

Our Vision: We want to see you succeed.

We see Business owners all across the country struggling under the burden of ever increasing health insurance premiums and legislative mandates that don’t make a lot of sense to them. They want to grow but they don’t know the best way to achieve their goals. What’s more, employers are not aware of all the options available to them nor do they understand the tax incentives available.

We partner with you to ensure your success by:

• Providing Major Reductions in Monthly Insurance Premiums with Strategies like HRA’s, HSA’s and MET’s.
• Designing an affordable core plan of popular benefits and trimming away the wasted benefits your employees tell us they don’t use
• Provide a safety net for special circumstances on an as-needed basis
• Taking away the confusion and guiding companies and their employees through the health insurance maze
• Being there for our clients, 24 hours a day, throughout the year as an advocate and resource
• Offering related services such as HR Consulting, Payroll,  Employment Law, Compensation Consulting, Retirement Planning

Our Purpose: Businesses are confused and uninformed about how to offer cost-effective programs for their employees and as to what their employees really want and need. They need advice, and an advocate to partner with so that benefits can become affordable and useable. That’s what we do. We guide them through the maze of plans, funding options, tax incentives, etc until we have designed the perfect plan for them. We make them look like heroes to their employees

Our Organization: Through our years of experience it has become evident that employers are looking for performance related services and results that deliver added value to their organizations. They need experts to assist them with more than just employee benefits’ human resources problems, legal issues, executive compensation and more. Our group of advisors is the top in each of their fields of endeavor and are available on an as-needed basis to our clients.

Industry & Community Involvement: We are all actively involved in the nation’s health care delivery system through involvement in associations such as the National Association of Health Underwriters, the Society of Human Resource Managers, Health Insurance Association of American the Society of Certified Senior Advisors and many more. Many of us hold board positions in these organizations. We also participate in the communities we serve by sitting on committees for local Chambers of Commerce and state Business and Industry Associations. Our activities in these organizations stems from the belief that we have an obligation to our clients to represent them in as many aspects of healthcare delivery as possible—from influencing legislation to sharing new concepts with industry leaders throughout the United States

Patrice (Patti) Goldfarb

Is the founder and President of The Employee Benefits Advisors Group, a producer group of top professionals in related areas who work with clients on an as needed basis. The Employee Benefits Advisors Group is a sister firm of New York based Medical Link.

Patti has specialized in the employee benefits and long term care insurance planning since 1982. She is the founder of the New York State Association of Health Underwriters where she currently serves as a trustee. She chairs the Insurance Committee for the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce.  Her past industry involvement includes President of the New York City Chapter of Women’s Life Underwriter’s Confederation and sitting on the board of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Life Underwriters.  She is also a Certified Senior Advisor. Her expertise includes working with large corporations, small businesses, schools and non-profit organizations.

She has published health insurance related articles, been quoted in Fortune and Forbes and has conducted seminars for business associations, accounting firms, bar associations and insurance agencies on topics such as:

• “How to be a Savvy Buyer of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance”
• “Recent Trends to Reduce Health Insurance Costs”
• “Long Term Care Insurance Design and Planning”
• “International Health Insurance Issues”

Many insurance professionals work with her to provide cutting edge benefits for their clients.  

She is the founder of the New York State Association of Health Underwriters and currently serves as a trustee. She is also a former President of the New York City Chapter of Women’s Life Underwriter’s Confederation and has sat on the board of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Life Underwriters.

Other Employee Benefits Advisors Expertise Includes:

• Employment Law: Ted Kochman, Esq., Partner Littler Mendelson
• Human Resources: Abby Duncan
• Executive Compensation: Marc Silberfarb, CEO Global Financial Institute
• Non-Profit Programs: Maurice Lyons & Bryan Erdheim
• VEBAs: Lance Wallach
• Customer Service: Rossita Kotzeva

Maurice Lyons

• Maurice (Mickey) Lyons is the founder and President of The Medical Link, a worldwide corporate benefit-consulting firm established in 1990.
• Mickey is on the board of directors of the NYS Association of Health Underwriters, current chair of the states’ legislative committee, and President of the Downstate Chapter. He is an originating member of the Society of Medical Benefit Administrators, (SAMBA) and the insurance advisor to the Independent Doctors of New York (IDNY). Mickey has been active in Washington and New York and on health advisory committees for several political candidates on both sides of the aisle.
• Prior to entering the insurance industry he spent 25 years as senior officer and president of various well-known manufacturing and retailing organizations. This experience affords him the true opportunity to evaluate benefit plans from the position of the employer as well as the consultant.
• Mickey resides in Manhattan and is an active member in many charitable organizations. He is a major supporter of The Park East Day School, and is past chair of The Parents Fund Raising for the University of Pennsylvania Class of “2005”. Mickey can be reached at 212 490 8777, extension 104.

   

Bryan Erdheim

• Bryan Erdheim has been a member of the The Medical Link team since 1999. In addition to his expertise in the employee benefits arena, Bryan heads up the proptery and casualty division of our firm. Bryan is known for is methodical approach to solving client problems.
• Bryan worked for one of the top ten brokerage firms in the country specializing in large commercial clients, meeting their property and casualty, and employee benefit needs. In 1999, The Medical Link recruited him and he has become a strategic member of our team. He has implemented many of the strategies he learned in his former organization and has applied his expertise to the growth of our firm.
• Bryan has had an interesting view of the insurance industry. He began his career handling third party claims; protecting clients from potential lawsuits from outside parties. This experience enabled him to identify exposures that clients face and that are often overlooked, on a first-hand basis. He then moved to brokerage as an account executive where he was responsible for customer management and consulted with senior management regarding their insurance exposure.

   

Rossitza (Rossi) Kotzeva

• Rossi has been with The Medical Link since 2000. Her original country of birth is Bulgaria (Eastern Europe) where she also received her first bachelor’s degree in Business Management. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs and has the vision of one. She worked as an HR assistant to the executive at Pepsi Co. –Bulgaria, and finished an internship at KMPG-Bulgaria. She came to the USA in 1999 to study at Baruch College (CUNY) where she obtained her BBA in Finance and Investments while learning the benefits consulting business. She also obtained a Health and Life Insurance License. In addition to her native Bulgarian language, Rossi speaks fluent English and Russian, and she can communicate in German and Macedonian.
• In 2002 Rossi headed our operations department and ever since she has help The Medical Link grow and enhance the level of every service. She says that the word “impossible” does not exist in her language and that she “can’t count over five ” when negotiating rate increases with the insurance companies. She has extraordinary abilities in finance and management. Every phone and claim issue she takes on a personal level and follows through until every single resource has been exhausted. Knowing the details of every insurance contract helps her win the majority of the appeals that we conduct for our clients on daily basis. She trains and monitors our staff to make sure that every service is performed with impeccable quality.
• With unlimited interest in research and statistics, Rossi follows the industry’s trends and developments which she later implements educating our staff and clients, and their employees. She prepares quantity vs. quality report for every proposal that we present to a client with greatest details to educate the clients and help them make informed decisions, and get the most for their money.

   

Duncan Resources

Abby Duncan, founding principal, has over 20 years of human resources consulting experience, serving both corporations and non-profit institutions. After earning teacher certification as well as completing a graduate degree, she worked for retained executive search/HR consulting firms prior to starting her own first business, which offered subcontracted recruiting services to them and to corporations.  Along the way, she expanded her range of services to provide training in the areas of employee retention, communication skills, conflict resolution, and work/family balance.  Ms. Duncan grew up working in a successful small family business where the emphasis was providing outstanding service and value to every customer.  With Duncan Resources, she now channels the experience gained from all of these past endeavors to bring support to growing small sized companies whose human resources needs are often undeserved.

Current services provided include these and more:

Evaluation/Development of Personnel Policies

•   To prevent discrimination and harassment
•   To ensure a positive, productive work environment 

Tools & Processes to measure Employee Performance

Talent management and development assessments

• Identification and recommendations for training
• Assistance with succession planning

Employee Retention assistance

• New Employee orientation
• Guidance regarding compensation
• Recognition and rewards
• Exit interviews 

Strategy Development to provide smooth transitions relative to management changes

Recruitment Alternatives

Training related to communications, conflict resolution, and effective meeting management

Assessment of potential use of out-sourcing, part-timers, or interns

Customized Interactive Workshops

TEDD J. KOCHMAN, ESQ. – SHAREHOLDER AT LITTLER, MENDELSON, P.C.
(THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT & LABOR LAW FIRM):

Mr. Kochman has spent the entirety of his legal career as a management-side labor and employment law practitioner. Mr. Kochman has represented companies, both large and small, throughout the United States in connection with a wide array of labor/employment matters. Mr. Kochman's practice focuses upon on all aspects of: (1) traditional labor law (i.e., collective bargaining negotiations, labor arbitrations, National Labor Relations Board practice and procedures, defending against union organizing drives, handling employee and supervisor education and campaigns as relate to union representation matters, strategizing and devising long-term labor strategies for union and non-union enterprises, addressing and implementing RIFS, successorship issues, and related corporate restructuring matters); (2) day-to-day employment counseling and advising management regarding labor and employment matters (i.e., implementation of, and drafting of, handbooks , personnel policies, workplace training materials, hiring packets, job descriptions, and advising clients concerning compliance with applicable labor and employment laws, discharge issues, immigration issues, wage and hour standards, and other general workplace guidelines); (3) handling workplace training activities (i.e., anti-harassment training, union avoidance training, employment and wage/hour audits, etc.); and (4) overseeing employment discrimination litigation.

Mr. Kochman is a Shareholder at Littler’s Newark, New Jersey office. Littler is the largest pure management-side employment/labor law firm in the Unites States.  Currently Littler has 38 domestic offices and over 500 attorneys.  The Firm exclusively handles employment litigation, traditional labor law matters, employment counseling services, employee benefits law, and immigration matters.  Despite its size, however, Littler remains committed to servicing both Fortune 500 companies, as well as boutique entities.  Mr. Kochman received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Member and Articles Editor for Georgetown University's American Criminal Law Review and a Member of Georgetown Law's Clinical Program.  Mr. Kochman received his undergraduate degree from the Honors Program at Emory University, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.  Mr. Kochman is admitted in both New Jersey and New York.  In addition, Mr. Kochman is a New Jersey State Court Certified Mediator.

In terms of professional activities, Mr. Kochman is on the New Jersey State Bar Association – Labor/Employment Section’s Executive Committee, Chairman of the New Jersey Department of Labor's Employer's Council (Bergen County) (former Passaic County Chairman), and sits on the Board of Directors of Bergen County Workforce Investment Board. Prior to joining private practice, Mr. Kochman was a legal clerk to National Labor Relations Board Member, Charles I. Cohen, in Washington, D.C.  Before joining Littler Mendelson, Mr. Kochman was a Shareholder at Grotta, Glassman & Hoffman, P.C.

Mike Goldman, owner - PrideStaff

Mike Goldman is the owner of PrideStaff of Paramus, providing workforce solutions to companies in Northern New Jersey. PrideStaff takes a very different approach to staffing, one that takes the guesswork out of the hiring process. They've completely re-engineered the staffing process to ensure that clients always receive the highest performing temporary employees and direct hire candidates. When you become a PrideStaff client, you have access to more than just their staffing and recruiting services. You’ll also have access to services and information that will improve your hiring process, productivity, employee retention, and your bottom line.

Mike also spent 17 years consulting to Fortune 500 companies and is a writer and speaker in the areas of career management and workforce strategies.