Employee benefits consulting · Self-funded and level-funded plans
You are not buying insurance. You are financing risk.
We help employers see where their health plan dollars actually go — and attack the costs in the order that matters. Written fees. No commissions from the vendors we recommend. Every number shown with its denominator.
- 01Provider unit cost65–70%
- 03Pharmacy and PBM25–30%
- 04Financial architecture15–30%
- 05Site-of-care steering15–20%
- 10Stop-loss structure5–12%
Planning ranges. Categories overlap — they do not add to 100%.
Transparent written fees
You know exactly what we're paid, in writing, before we start.
Zero contingent compensation
No bonuses or overrides from carriers or vendors. Our advice has one client.
Full vendor disclosure
Every vendor in your plan, and every dollar each one earns, on one page.
Where the money actually is.
Twelve levers, ranked by what each can realistically take out of total plan cost — not out of a slice chosen by whoever is selling the fix.
| Rank | Lever | What it is | Where the money sits | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Provider unit cost | What the plan actually pays a hospital for the same procedure. | 65–70% of plan | 12–24 mo |
| 02 | High-cost claimant management | Find the few members driving most spend, early. | 50–60% of dollars from 2–5% of members | 3–12 mo |
| 03 | Pharmacy and PBM economics | Specialty drugs and the middleman's margin. | 25–30% of plan | 6–12 mo |
| 04 | Financial architecture | The dollars wired to the carrier that never touch a claim. | 15–30% of plan | At renewal |
| 05 | Site-of-care steering | Same infusion, same surgery, outside the hospital department. | 15–20% of plan | 3–6 mo |
| 06 | Advanced primary care | Pay up front so expensive downstream care never happens. | 5–8% of plan | 12–24 mo |
| 07 | Payment integrity and audit | Billing errors, duplicates, and ineligible dependents. | 100% of claims | 3–9 mo |
| 08 | Centers of excellence | Complex surgery where it's done best, priced in advance. | 5–10% of plan | 6–12 mo |
| 09 | Plan design that steers | Make the better clinical choice the cheaper one. | 100% of plan | At renewal |
| 10 | Stop-loss structure | Buy the catastrophic coverage correctly. | 5–12% of plan | At renewal |
| 11 | Vendor point solutions | Measure savings net of the fee before you renew. | 1–3% of plan (fees) | At renewal |
| 12 | Shifting cost to employees | Your number falls. The cost of care does not move. | The employee's share | Immediate |
Lever zero: your claims data, allowed amounts and vendor compensation. It saves nothing on its own — but nothing above can be executed without it. Under current fiduciary rules, you're entitled to all of it.
How we're paid
Most of the market is paid by the people it buys from.
Common practice
Commission set as a percentage of premium. Bonuses tied to carrier volume. Vendor fees bundled and rarely itemized.
Brighter Benefits
A flat written fee. No contingent pay of any kind. A complete vendor-stack disclosure delivered with every renewal.
Contact
Always ask for the denominator.
Tell us about your plan. We'll tell you which levers are worth pulling first — and what we'd charge to help.
[EMAIL] · [PHONE]