February 2025 - Better Source Benefits

Monthly Archives: February 2025

The Bad & Ugly Of the Self-Funding

Here’s the deal. Brokers will sell the dream –

“You’ll save money! You’ll get more control!”

…but they leave out the real talk. Self-funding is a financial cheat code, but only if you do it right. And that means understanding both the upside and the risks.

And trust me – everything cool is on the other side of fear.

Self-funding cuts out the middlemen, so you stop paying extra just to keep insurance companies fat and happy. Instead of getting slammed with rate hikes, you actually control where your money goes.

And when it’s done right… Picture this. You roll out a self-funded plan, and suddenly your employees get free imaging, maintenance meds for two bucks, and bundled surgeries at real-world prices.

A total knee replacement? Shouldn’t cost $50K. It should cost $17K – and that’s exactly what it costs at one of our partner facilities.

A hernia repair? Try $3,800.

Meanwhile, insurance companies are making these up like they’re running a luxury fashion brand – except instead of a designer bag, you’re overpaying for a CT scan.

And prescriptions? Those high-cost drugs you see advertised every five minutes? Most manufacturers will give them away for free.

That’s not a loophole. That’s just knowing how the game works.

And when you do – or at least you choose someone who does to be your partner – when you start using actual strategy instead of blindly trusting an overpriced, outdated system – you win.

“But What About The Risk?”

Good question. A lot of employers hear “self-funded” and immediately picture themselves drowning in unexpected claims.

That’s where protection comes in.

We build two layers of stop-loss coverage – one for individuals, one for the whole group – so even if claims spike, you’re covered.

And because we actually manage risk, we don’t get blindsided. We track claims, optimize prescriptions, negotiate medical costs, and use data-driven forecasting to keep things predictable.

Which means when renewal time comes around, you’re not sitting there, waiting for some mystery number to drop. You already know what to expect.

It’s fun because all of a sudden you’ve got accountability, you’ve got predictability, and you’ve got repeatability. That’s a lot of “ability!” And it’s found right here at Better Source Benefits, John Clay, moi, who can deliver those to you.

Escape the system, or just continue feeding it… Your gateway is here >>

Why You Haven’t Transitioned From Fully Insured to Self-Funded Healthcare Plan YET…

Why Haven’t You Done This Sooner? (No, Seriously…)

Let’s talk about healthcare. Specifically, let’s talk about why so many business owners—smart, capable, number-driven people—are still stuck in a bad deal they don’t even know they’re in.

I hear it all the time. The moment a company transitions from fully insured to self-funded, the CEO or HR director comes back and says:

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Well, my friend, let’s break that down.

The Invisible Problem (A.K.A. “Why You Haven’t Noticed You’re Getting Screwed”)

You don’t notice a problem until it slaps you in the face—or, in this case, until your renewal rate hikes up 20% like it’s on steroids.

Most big companies don’t even blink at their health plan until they see double-digit inflation on a spreadsheet. And that’s exactly how the insurance companies want it.

Because here’s the secret:

Your insurer just raised your premiums by 10%, but behind the scenes? They’re making 20%–70% on underwriting gains inside the health plan.

That’s profit they keep. Money that never even touches your employees’ healthcare.

And you? You never see it. You never hear about it. You just keep cutting the check, thinking, “Well, that’s just how healthcare works.”

Spoiler alert: It doesn’t have to.

The Jedi Mind Tricks Of Big Insurance

You ever notice how big insurance loves using vague terms, three-letter acronyms, and enough legal jargon to make your head spin?

That’s not by accident. It’s a tactic—one designed to make you and your employees give up before you even start fighting.

Here’s how it goes down:

Employee submits a claim.
Insurance denies it. Sorry, that’s not covered under your plan.
Employee calls for help. Let me transfer you to another department that will do absolutely nothing.
HR shrugs. Well, that’s just how it is.

And BOOM! The game is over.

The employee is left with a $20,000 medical bill for something they thought was covered, and the insurance company? They pocket the difference.

Worse, HR doesn’t push back because—let’s be honest—they don’t want to ruin their buddy-buddy relationship with the rep who takes them out for golf once a year.

And Karen from accounting? She’s too busy arguing with IT about why her emails aren’t sending to go to war with an insurance giant.

So your employees suffer in silence while big insurance laughs all the way to the bank.

Here’s What We Do Instead

You reach out to me, and we run a three-step process that flips the script on this nonsense:

Investigate – We dig in. Where’s the waste? Where’s the bloat? Who’s making money off your plan while your employees get shafted?

Evaluate – We show you the real numbers (the ones insurers don’t want you to see).

Execute – We put a strategy in place that saves you money permanently and gives you full transparency into your costs.

And here’s the fun part:

When renewal time rolls around in 2025, you’re not walking in blind anymore.

You’ll have predictable, measurable, repeatable results. You’ll see where every single penny of your healthcare dollars is going. And best of all?

You’ll finally understand how this game is played—and you’ll be playing to win.

So yeah… why haven’t you done this sooner?

Let’s fix that.

Escape the system, or just continue feeding it… Your gateway is here >>