Category Archives: Cost Saving Ideas

Providing benefits for your employees requires you to balance cost control with the needs and wants of your workforce. As decision makers, you have to scrutinize every expense that crosses your desk. That’s especially true when you’re making financial decisions on behalf of a municipality. Controlling your stop-loss costs is just one way to stretch your healthcare dollars without sacrificing employee benefits. Having the right level of stop-loss coverage allows a municipality to cap its financial risk while it provides a high-quality self-funded plan to its employees. But the stop-loss decisions you made last year may not reflect your current needs. That’s why we urge you to seek competitive quotes every year, even if you’re already working with a healthcare consultant. Continue Reading >

When your employees are unwell, your business is unwell. Supporting employee health is good for morale, good for productivity and really good for your budget. Having a largely healthy workforce is a key element of controlling health care costs, especially for self-insured employers that cover their own medical claims.  Continue Reading >

It’s preferable to stop a fire from starting than it is to stop the flames from spreading, or to undo the damage that they cause. Prevention is naturally a primary goal for healthcare providers, who strive to keep patients from becoming sick and/or getting sicker. But self-insured employers benefit from this branch of  healthcare too. Though it’s hard to say definitely if preventive medicine will help you dramatically slash costs, embracing prevention has lasting benefits for all involved. Continue Reading >

When was the last time you scrolled through the health and fitness apps available on your favorite device? Maybe you’ll check them all out the next time you have, oh, five or six free days in a row. That’s probably about how long it would take you to review the full range of health apps available in your device’s app store. Continue Reading >

Saving money is the primary reason that many employers decide to provide self-funded insurance. Balancing that objective and the healthcare needs of employees can be an ongoing struggle. Trimming benefits would help you cut spending, but not without sacrificing employee health and morale. Instead, think about making some strategic shifts to your plan. For some employers, it only takes a few small changes to dramatically slash healthcare spending. Continue Reading >

How can you make this upcoming year the best one yet for your business? It’s a lofty goal, but an achievable one too – that is, if your employees are ready to give you their best work this year. Launching a workplace wellness program is one way to motivate them to do just that. Continue Reading >

As we head into a new flu season, self-funded employers have good reason to be concerned about healthcare costs. Let’s face it, the flu is bad news for everyone. The best case scenario involves a healthy adult getting a mild case, spending a week feeling miserable and maybe making a single trip to the doctor. But others aren’t as lucky. Continue Reading >

Did you know self-funded plans are required to comply with ERISA guidelines? Typically when we think of ERISA we think of pensions and retirement benefits. However, even though the plan pays for healthcare coverage, a self-funded plan is fundamentally a pool of money. And that money needs to be insured. In order to protect the members, ERISA covers the plan and its fiduciaries. Continue Reading >

When 79 percent of Americans agree about something, politicians take notice. That’s the percentage of people who consider drug prices “unreasonable,” according to a 2019 KFF poll. Outrage about rising prescription drugs costs has reached a fever pitch. However, these feelings are nothing new. Early in his presidency,  the Trump administration vowed to make medication more affordable for American patients. They unveiled a new policy with the claim to reduce drug costs. So have they delivered? Continue Reading >