Blog
What Is an ASO Health Plan? How It Differs from a TPA
An employer moving off a fully insured plan for the first time usually hears two terms almost interchangeably: ASO and…
What Is Precision Medicine, and What It Means for Self-Funded Health Plans and Funds
Precision medicine is an approach to care that uses information about a person’s genes, environment and lifestyle to choose the…
Provider Network Development: How to Build (or Access) a Network Without Starting From Scratch
Provider network development is the process of recruiting, contracting and credentialing providers so a health plan can offer members in-network…
Form 5500 for Self-Funded Plans and Multiemployer Funds: What Sponsors and Trustees Must File
Every year, benefit plans covered by ERISA owe the federal government a detailed account of how they operate. That account…
Network Adequacy Requirements and How to Close the Gaps
Network adequacy is the set of regulatory standards that determine whether a health plan has enough contracted providers, in the…
Designing a Flexible Provider Network for Self-Funded Plans
Self-funded employers, third-party administrators (TPAs), regional carriers and benefits consultants rarely serve one uniform population. A workforce spread across three…
Wrap Network Strategy: Extending Plan Coverage Without Rebuilding Your Network
A primary network rarely covers every member in every location. A remote employee in a rural county, a new market…
Before the Appointment: Half of Insured Employees Have Delayed Care Because They Couldn’t Confidently Navigate Their Provider Network
Nearly 1 in 4 who delayed care and eventually sought treatment say it was more extensive than it would have…
What Is a Level-Funded Health Plan? A Guide for Employers Weighing Their Options
Most employers weighing their health plan options only hear two choices at renewal: stay fully insured, or take the leap…
The Taft-Hartley Act Explained: What the 1947 Law Means for Labor Benefit Funds
“Taft-Hartley” is a name every union official, fund trustee, and labor-side benefits professional hears constantly, usually attached to a Fund,…
Centers of Excellence in Healthcare: What They Are and How Multiemployer Funds Use Them
When a member of your Fund needs a hip replacement, a cancer diagnosis worked up, or cardiac care managed, where…
Leased Networks: A Flexible Option for Self-Funded Health Plans
For a multiemployer health plan or Taft-Hartley Fund, building a proprietary provider network is rarely a realistic option. Direct contracting…