Why Better Benefits Don’t Have to Cost More at Renewal

Each renewal season, employers face the same impossible choice: absorb another rate increase or cut back on benefits. But what if the real issue isn’t the benefits themselves—it’s the structure of your health plan?

For companies still operating under fully insured plans, annual renewals often mean less control, limited transparency, and rising costs year after year. The truth is, improving benefits and lowering costs aren’t mutually exclusive. With a self-funded health plan, it’s entirely possible to do both.

How Self-Funding Changes the Game

Self-funding gives employers direct visibility and control over where every healthcare dollar goes. Instead of paying a carrier to manage risk (and mark up every claim), employers fund their own claims—protected by stop-loss insurance for large, unexpected costs.

That control creates room to reinvest savings into better benefits for employees, such as:

• Free Prescriptions: By carving out pharmacy benefits and sourcing medications through transparent or international channels, employers often save 50–70% while eliminating copays for members.

• Free Imaging: Instead of overpaying hospital rates, partnering with direct imaging centers offers high-quality scans at a fraction of the cost—reducing both employer spend and employee out-of-pocket costs.

• Low-Cost Primary Care: Many self-funded employers introduce direct primary care options, giving employees unlimited visits for a simple monthly fee, often resulting in lower total claims.

  
  

The Win-Win Outcome

Employees get richer benefits, access to better care, and lower out-of-pocket costs. Employers stabilize renewals, gain data to manage spend, and avoid being blindsided by annual increases.

Better benefits don’t have to cost more—it just takes a smarter plan design. Self-funding gives companies the flexibility and control to turn healthcare from a painful expense into a competitive advantage.

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