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Employee Benefits

A 33% Decrease to Health Insurance Spend in 3 Years

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April 15, 2022
Cottingham & Butler

A county in northeastern Wisconsin was facing a 6% increase in their health insurance costs.

Line graph indicating the anonymized client's total health insurance cost. A notable decrease is seen when Cottingham & Butler is noted as the named Broker of Record.

Cottingham & Butler's public sector team was invited to conduct our 3C's analysis, where we benchmark coverage, cost, and consumption compared to peer counties and municipalities in the area. This analysis leads to identifying areas for opportunity and allows us to make targeted quantifiable recommendations.


Pharmacy Contract Review

We renegotiated the pharmacy benefit manager contract, moving from a 3-year to a 1-year contract. We also introduced step-therapy and coupon tracking on medications that led to $115k in savings.


Tenure-Based Opt Out

We implemented a $5,000 cash opt-out based on tenure. This was an added benefit offered to employees with over 20 years of service to the County that led to over $84k in savings.


High-Performance Network

We recommended that the County introduce a tiered high-performance network, incenting members (but not mandating them) to use high-quality, low-cost providers leading to over $280k in savings.


An anonymous quote from Cottingham & Butler's public sector client, which outlines their positive experience with C&B's Employee Benefits team.

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