Expert client advising based on over 21 years of experience.

The middleman in the employee benefits industry is typically acting as either broker or consultant. At Benefit Management Solutions (BMS) the only difference between the two is how we are compensated. If we are a broker then we receive a commission from the insurance company. If we are a consultant then we are being paid directly by the client and receive no commissions from the insurance companies for that particular client.

We prefer to be retained as consultant. Why? Very simple: there is never a doubt that our interests are clearly aligned with our client. If we were retained as broker and your premiums increased each year then so do our commissions. Why should we get a raise just because your costs go up? Aren’t you paying enough already? We are obviously interested in providing for our families and keeping a roof over our heads but last time we checked we were just advising our clients on the absolute best benefits program we could design and deliver; not solving all the world’s problems.

Here is our definition of a consultant:

• Undeniable expert in his or her chosen field
• Ability to take complicated reams of data and transform it into meaningful nuggets of information
• One who maintains an impeccable code of ethics
• Refuses to be influenced by the underlying vendors providing services to his or her client
• Protects the client’s best interests at all times
• Is compensated fairly for the work being done

As our client, you will receive some pretty spectacular things that we are certain you have probably never seen before. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can meet your employee benefit management needs.

Monthly Financial Experience Reports
We think it is absolutely critical that if you are self insured you should know exactly how your plan is performing relative to the budget you established and communicated to senior management at the outset of the plan year. That is why we created monthly financial experience reports so you can track:

• Enrollment by plan
• Paid claims by plan
• Large claims by plan
• Fixed costs
• Dashboard console of average costs by plan on a Net and Gross cost basis
• Monthly actual results to monthly budget
• Annualized projections of budget and actuals

With these management reports in hand you can spend as much time as you like each month analyzing the results or as little as five minutes per month tracking how you are doing relative to budget. We make it simple.

Renewal Analysis
Unfortunately medical plans have to renew every year. You may have some of the other coverages in your portfolio like Group Life, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability or Dental that have a multi-year rate guarantee but not for Medical. The real value of a broker/consultant is not his or her access to markets because unlike Property Casualty insurance the group insurance companies will offer quotes to anyone carrying a proper Life and Health license. Obtaining these quotes is also not a difficult task. You simply put together a formal Request for Proposal that is clear, concise and thorough and send it out to bid. It’s what you do with all of the proposals the marketplace returns to you that begin to separate the true benefits consultant from the rest of the pack. Every renewal analysis that we prepare is custom. We painstakingly go through each proposal with a fine tooth comb and lay out all plan details in a clear manner so you don’t have to go through the reams of paper generated by the insurance companies. We synthesize that data for you. The result is an objective analysis of the marketplace presented in such a way that you can easily focus on the weaknesses and strengths of each bidder’s proposed plan design and financial offer.

Medical/Rx Review
Self insured clients want to stay on top of emerging trends, historical paid claim patterns, and fixed costs. We help them do that by preparing a two year comparative look back. This analysis is exhaustive and covers a number of areas including:

• renewal expenses based on covered employees, fixed costs, maximum claims liability, monthly enrollments
• differential between total plan exposure and actual gross cash outlay.

This comprehensive review provides monthly summary reports of medical/prescriptions drugs for various types of plan options. The yearly reporting also contains specific prescription usage and cost figures. Everything is spelled out in transparent fashion so we can advise you on what is and what may not be working.

Poster Size Summary of Gross Costs and Benefits for Medical Plans
Have you ever asked your broker/consultant to lay out numerous options for you to review with your management team? Can you remember what you received from that request? Was it multiple pages of spreadsheets too numerous to count and too confusing to try to present and explain to senior management? Unfortunately the dreaded spreadsheet is a way of life for us benefit advisors. There is no escaping it but there is a better way to display the results. Why not create a 3 ft. by 4 ft. poster of the results so you can literally see everything on one colorful page?

That is exactly what we have done here at BMS. For most clients, it’s a deeply moving experience the first time they see their own data displayed like this. Once they get past the tears of pure joy they settle in for a truly unique way of evaluating all options. Before you know it that blueprint is surrounded by everyone in the room and a true collaboration and brainstorming session ensues as optimal solutions are easily brought to light.