Books & Publications
The High Performance Health Plan
A Practical Guide to Taking Control of Healthcare Costs and Building Better Benefits
A field guide for employers who want to understand the system they are paying for, choose a better financing vehicle, and build control into the plan.
"Stop Managing the Renewal. Start Managing Healthcare."
— Corry Hull, REBC®, CSFS®
Health insurance is a financing mechanism. Healthcare is what the employer is actually purchasing: access to providers, pharmacy care, clinical support, data, contracts, and the employee experience. When the renewal becomes the strategy, the organization is left reacting to the price of a system it has not designed or managed.
The High Performance Health Plan gives employers a practical framework for understanding where healthcare dollars go, gaining greater control over the system, and building benefits that perform better for both the organization and employees.
This is not a book about insurance. It is a book about strategy — and about the mindset shift required to stop being a passive buyer of healthcare and start being an active, informed purchaser with a repeatable operating discipline.
The System
A Complete Operating System for Employer Healthcare
The High Performance Health Plan is designed to answer the five executive questions that turn intent into disciplined action.
The Framework
The 10 components you actively manage — the canonical definition of a high-performance health plan.
The Score
Your current strengths, gaps, and priorities across all 10 components — a clear view before action.
The Methodology
The operating discipline: Align → See → Control → Purchase → Guide → Measure → Improve.
The Roadmap
The sequence that turns priorities into practical action — the right decisions in the right order.
The Maturity Model
Your current capability level: Crawl → Walk → Run → Sprint. Know where you are and what comes next.
The Methodology
A Method, Not a Renewal Cycle
A repeatable path from intention to better purchasing decisions. The goal is not to fix everything at once — it is to make the right decisions in the right order, then keep building.
Align
Establish ownership, accountability, and shared goals across the organization.
See
Gain visibility into claims data, cost drivers, and plan performance.
Control
Identify and act on the decisions that shape cost and care outcomes.
Purchase
Apply disciplined purchasing across financing, pharmacy, network, and vendors.
Guide
Direct employees toward high-value care and away from low-value spending.
Measure
Track performance across all 10 components with clear metrics and benchmarks.
Improve
Use measurement to drive continuous improvement and raise the maturity level.
Inside the Book
The 10-Component Framework™
The High Performance Health Plan is organized around a 10-component operating model for employer healthcare strategy. Each component addresses what it is, why it matters, and what employers can do to improve performance.
Plan Financing & Structure
Self-funding, level-funding, and the spectrum of plan financing options — and how to choose the right structure for your organization.
Pharmacy Benefit Strategy
How PBMs work, where the conflicts of interest lie, and how employers can take control of their pharmacy benefit.
Network & Access Strategy
Reference-based pricing, direct contracting, centers of excellence, and how to build a network strategy that serves your employees and your budget.
Claims & Data Analytics
How to gain access to your own claims data, what it reveals, and how to use it to drive better decisions.
Cost Containment Programs
The full menu of cost containment strategies — from direct primary care to chronic condition management — and how to build a coherent program.
Stop-Loss & Risk Management
How to structure stop-loss coverage, evaluate captive arrangements, and manage catastrophic risk in a self-funded plan.
ERISA Fiduciary Governance
What ERISA fiduciary duty means for health plan sponsors, and what prudent governance looks like in practice.
CAA & Regulatory Compliance
The Consolidated Appropriations Act's requirements for employer plan sponsors — and how to meet them.
Employee Experience & Communication
How to design a benefit program that employees understand, value, and use effectively.
Continuous Improvement & Measurement
How to build a performance management system for your health plan — and keep improving year over year.
About the Author
Corry Hull, REBC®, CSFS®
Corry Hull is Vice President of Employee Benefits at BHC Insurance and founder of Employer Benefits IQ. He holds the Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC®) and Certified Self-Funding Specialist (CSFS®) designations and is a Health Rosetta Certified Advisor and 2026 Rosie Award recipient.
He has spent his career advising employers on how to build health plans that perform — financially, clinically, and operationally. The High Performance Health Plan is the distillation of that work: a practical, opinionated guide for employers who are ready to take control.
REBC®
Registered Employee Benefits Consultant
CSFS®
Certified Self-Funding Specialist
Health Rosetta
Certified Advisor · 2026 Rosie Award
UBA
Partner Firm Member
Related Resources
Go Deeper
Employer Benefits IQ
The practical application platform for The High Performance Health Plan Framework™ — 48 tools, benchmarking, 158 learning modules, vendor intelligence across 185 vendors, and decision support for employers.
Visit Employer Benefits IQ →The High Performance Health Plan Website
The official methodology platform — the Framework, Score, Roadmap, and Maturity Model in full.
Visit the Book Website →Corry Hull's Expertise
A full overview of Corry Hull's advisory practice — the eight areas of expertise that map to The High Performance Health Plan Framework™.
View Expertise & Services →Get the Book
Available on Amazon and at the book's companion website. For bulk orders, speaking engagements, or media inquiries related to the book, use the contact form.