A Full-Spectrum Practice in Employer Healthcare Strategy

Plan Financing

Self-Funded Health Plans

Self-funding gives employers direct control over how healthcare dollars are spent — and direct access to the data that drives better decisions.

Self-funded (or self-insured) health plans allow employers to pay claims directly rather than paying a fixed premium to an insurance carrier. This structure gives employers access to their own claims data, the ability to customize plan design, and the opportunity to capture savings that would otherwise go to a carrier's profit margin. Corry Hull advises employers on the full spectrum of self-funding decisions: whether self-funding is appropriate, how to structure the plan, how to select and manage a third-party administrator (TPA), and how to build the surrounding ecosystem of vendors and strategies that make self-funding perform.

• Self-funded vs. fully-insured analysis and feasibility
• Third-party administrator (TPA) selection and management
• Plan document design and customization
• Self-funded plan performance benchmarking
• Transition planning from fully-insured to self-funded
• Level-funded plan evaluation

PBM Strategy

Pharmacy Benefit Management

Pharmacy is one of the fastest-growing cost drivers in employer health plans — and one of the most opaque. Corry helps employers see through the complexity and take control.

Pharmacy benefit management (PBM) strategy is one of the most consequential and least understood areas of employer healthcare. PBMs sit between employers and the drug supply chain, controlling formularies, rebates, pricing, and access — often in ways that benefit the PBM rather than the employer or patient. Corry Hull advises employers on PBM contract evaluation, transparent and pass-through PBM models, formulary strategy, specialty drug management, and how to align pharmacy benefit design with the employer's broader healthcare strategy.

• PBM contract analysis and transparent/pass-through models
• Formulary design and drug utilization management
• Specialty pharmacy strategy and cost management
• Rebate transparency and pass-through evaluation
• PBM market check and competitive RFP
• Biosimilar and generic substitution strategy

Cost Strategy

Healthcare Cost Containment

Sustainable cost management requires a system — not a series of one-off tactics. Corry helps employers build a coherent cost containment strategy across the full plan.

Healthcare cost containment is not a single strategy — it is a discipline that requires coordinated action across plan design, network strategy, care management, pharmacy, and employee behavior. Corry Hull helps employers identify where healthcare dollars are going, which cost drivers are addressable, and which strategies — reference-based pricing, direct contracting, centers of excellence, value-based plan design, and others — are appropriate for their specific situation.

• Reference-based pricing (RBP) strategy and implementation
• Direct primary care (DPC) integration
• Centers of excellence and high-performance network strategy
• Value-based plan design and benefit incentives
• Chronic condition and high-cost claimant management
• Healthcare navigation and advocacy programs

Compliance & Governance

ERISA Fiduciary Governance

Employers who sponsor health plans are ERISA fiduciaries. Most don't know it — and many are not meeting their obligations. Corry helps employers understand and fulfill their fiduciary duties.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) imposes fiduciary duties on employers who sponsor health and welfare benefit plans. These duties — prudence, loyalty, and exclusive benefit — require employers to act in the best interest of plan participants, make informed decisions about plan management, and document their decision-making process. Corry Hull advises employers on ERISA fiduciary governance: understanding fiduciary status, establishing governance structures, conducting prudent vendor selection, and building the documentation practices that demonstrate fiduciary compliance.

• ERISA fiduciary status and duty assessment
• Fiduciary governance structure and committee formation
• Prudent vendor selection and documentation
• Plan document review and compliance
• CAA (Consolidated Appropriations Act) compliance
• Fiduciary liability risk assessment

Data & Analytics

Claims & Healthcare Data Analytics

You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Claims data is the foundation of every high-performing health plan — and most employers never see it.

Claims and healthcare data analytics is the foundation of evidence-based benefit management. Employers who have access to their own claims data — and know how to use it — can identify cost drivers, measure the impact of plan changes, target care management interventions, and make informed decisions about plan design and vendor selection. Corry Hull helps employers gain access to their data, interpret what it means, and use it to drive better decisions across every dimension of the health plan.

• Claims data access and ownership strategy
• Healthcare data analysis and cost driver identification
• Plan performance benchmarking and reporting
• Predictive analytics and population health management
• Vendor performance measurement and accountability
• Health Plan Score™ assessment

Risk Management

Stop-Loss Insurance

Stop-loss insurance is the risk management foundation of self-funded health plans. Getting it right requires more than finding the lowest premium.

Stop-loss insurance protects self-funded employers from catastrophic claims — both individual high-cost claimants (specific stop-loss) and aggregate plan losses that exceed expected total claims (aggregate stop-loss). Corry Hull advises employers on stop-loss structure, attachment point strategy, carrier selection, contract terms, and how to use stop-loss as part of a broader risk management strategy.

• Specific and aggregate stop-loss structure and design
• Attachment point strategy and risk tolerance analysis
• Stop-loss carrier selection and contract review
• Group medical captive evaluation and implementation
• Lasering and carve-out management
• Renewal strategy and market negotiation

Benefits Design

Employee Benefits Strategy

A high-performing benefit program is more than a health plan. It is a strategic asset that attracts talent, supports employee wellbeing, and reflects the employer's values.

Employee benefits strategy encompasses the full range of benefit program decisions — from health plan design and ancillary benefits to voluntary benefits, wellness programs, and total rewards strategy. Corry Hull advises employers on how to build a benefit program that performs well financially, supports employee health and wellbeing, and serves as a competitive advantage in talent attraction and retention.

• Total benefits strategy and program design
• Benefit benchmarking and competitive analysis
• Ancillary and voluntary benefits strategy
• Employee communication and engagement
• Wellness and population health program integration
• Total rewards and talent strategy alignment

Regulatory Compliance

CAA Compliance & Transparency

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 created significant new obligations for employer health plan sponsors. Most employers are not fully compliant.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) introduced sweeping new transparency and fiduciary requirements for employer-sponsored health plans, including gag clause prohibition attestations, machine-readable file requirements, price transparency tools, mental health parity analysis, and broker/consultant compensation disclosure. Corry Hull helps employers understand their CAA obligations, assess their current compliance posture, and implement the processes and documentation required to meet these requirements.

• CAA compliance assessment and gap analysis
• Gag clause prohibition attestation (GCPCA)
• Broker and consultant compensation disclosure (408(b)(2))
• Mental health parity and addiction equity (MHPAEA) analysis
• Price transparency and No Surprises Act compliance
• Prescription drug data collection (RxDC) reporting

Emerging Benefit Challenges

GLP-1 & Obesity Benefit Strategy

GLP-1 medications are reshaping employer pharmacy spend. Corry helps employers build a sustainable, evidence-based strategy for obesity and metabolic benefit management.

GLP-1 receptor agonists — including semaglutide and tirzepatide — represent one of the fastest-growing and most expensive categories in employer pharmacy spend. Without a deliberate strategy, employers face significant cost exposure with limited visibility into clinical outcomes or return on investment. Corry Hull helps employers evaluate GLP-1 coverage decisions, build clinical criteria and prior authorization frameworks, assess specialty pharmacy and PBM contract implications, and integrate obesity benefit management into a broader population health strategy.

• GLP-1 coverage policy design and clinical criteria
• Prior authorization and step therapy frameworks
• PBM contract review for GLP-1 and specialty drug exposure
• Obesity benefit program design and vendor evaluation
• Population health and chronic condition management integration
• Cost modeling and financial impact analysis