Briefings
Short memos for people who sign the checks.
Plain-spoken briefings on healthcare costs, benefits strategy, and the questions CFOs should be asking — each one a few minutes' read, written to be forwarded.
No. 010
June 2026 · 4 min
How to Reduce Employee Health Insurance Costs Without Cutting Benefits
Lowering what you spend on health benefits and protecting your employees' coverage aren't mutually exclusive — they only feel that way. Here's why.
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No. 009
May 2026 · 3 min
What Employer Health Coverage Costs in 2026 — and Why It's a Top-Three Expense
Employer health coverage is projected to exceed $18,500 per employee in 2026 — the steepest rise in 15 years. Why it's a top-three line item, and a lever.
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No. 008
April 2026 · 3 min
What's Actually Inside Your Health Insurance Renewal Increase
A renewal isn't one number — it's trend, claims experience, pooling, and margin, each negotiable to a different degree. Read it like the carrier does.
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No. 007
March 2026 · 3 min
Five Questions a CFO Should Ask Before the Next Benefits Renewal
Most renewal meetings are presentations, not negotiations. These five questions change the posture of the room — and two have answers most brokers avoid.
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No. 006
February 2026 · 4 min
Self-Funded vs. Fully Insured: Which Plan Actually Lets You Cut Costs
Self-funded vs. fully insured is the wrong first question if your goal is lower cost. Here's what each one controls — and what neither one fixes.
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No. 005
January 2026 · 4 min
Why Higher Deductibles Don't Actually Lower Your Health Costs
Raising deductibles lowers your premium but not your cost — it's a cost shift, not a cost reduction. Here's the difference, and what it hides.
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No. 004
December 2025 · 4 min
Coordination of Benefits: The Quiet Lever in Dual-Income Workforces
When employees have access to two plans, coordination of benefits decides who pays. In dual-income workforces, that overlap is where avoidable cost hides.
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No. 003
November 2025 · 4 min
How Hospitals Can Lower Employee Health Costs Without Touching the Plan
Hospitals carry the costliest workforces in healthcare. How a health system can lower employee benefit spend without changing the plan or the carrier.
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No. 002
October 2025 · 3 min
The Benefits Lever That Drops Straight to EBITDA: A Guide for PE Operators
Benefits is operating expense at every holding. Reduce it and the savings drop straight to EBITDA — repeatable across the book, compounding at exit.
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No. 001
September 2025 · 4 min
How Public Employers Can Lower Health Costs Without Raising Taxes or Cutting Services
Cities, counties, and districts carry large workforces and rising health costs that land on taxpayers. How to lower that spend without cutting services.
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