From Fully Insured Constraints to Data-Driven Benefits Strategy

Bennie’s role began while Bartlett was still fully insured, focused on improving transparency into renewal drivers and translating carrier reporting into actionable insights. This allowed Bartlett to better understand how claims experience was influencing cost increases.

Rather than treating renewal as a single annual event, Bennie positioned benefits as a continuously managed financial system supported by data, benchmarking, and long-term planning.

As Bartlett explored alternative funding strategies, Bennie provided scenario modeling across cost, risk, and employee impact to evaluate whether self-funding could improve predictability and control.

By Bennie breaking down the process into manageable steps and providing ongoing support, we felt confident and informed every step of the way.

Bennie also supported plan design decisions including stop-loss structure, pharmacy strategy, and benefit expansion opportunities tied directly to employee population needs.

Their hands-on approach made it much easier to prioritize what mattered most.

How Real-Time Claims Data Changes Employer Decision-Making

After transitioning to self-funding, Bennie enabled real-time access to claims and utilization data, giving Bartlett visibility into healthcare spending as it happened rather than after renewal.

This shifted the HR function from reactive plan management to continuous benefits optimization, allowing early identification of cost drivers and emerging trends.

For the first time in two years, our costs were transparent and actually made sense.

Bennie continues to support ongoing interpretation of claims data, helping Bartlett translate insights into actionable plan adjustments throughout the year.

High-Cost Drug Management Strategy

One of the most significant early impacts came through the CARE program, a pharmacy cost management and clinical optimization solution embedded into Bartlett’s self-funded model.

Within the first two months of implementation, the CARE program identified a high-cost prescription opportunity involving a critical medication category, resulting in meaningful savings for both the employer and the member.

This included optimization of high-cost prescriptions where utilization patterns were identified and addressed through clinical review and alternative coverage pathways. This approach balanced employee access with long-term cost sustainability, rather than restricting care.

Just two months into our self-funding journey, the program saved the company $37,201.66 and the member $9,300.42 on a critical prescription. Seeing that level of impact so quickly, and having the Bennie team guide us through it, made it clear that moving to self-funding was absolutely the right decision.

This early outcome demonstrated how ongoing pharmacy oversight can directly improve both financial performance and employee health outcomes.

From Annual Renewal Cycles to Continuous Benefits Optimization

Across both fully insured and self-funded phases, Bennie supported Bartlett in evolving benefits from a static, annual renewal process into a continuously managed strategic program.

This included improving transparency under the fully insured model and enabling full data-driven optimization after the transition to self-funding.