Pandemic Burnout and Heart Health: Are Your Employees at Risk?
We’re reminded every February (also known as heart health month) how important a productive, happy, and healthy employee is. But this year, we’re faced with
Is a Self-Funded Captive Plan Right for You?
The growth of stop-loss captive programs has been significant over the past several years providing the perfect example of self-insurance and captive insurance working together
Top 5 Trends Impacting Health Insurance Costs
We all saw big changes in 2020 as we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses found ways to keep the doors open and the lights on
Gemcare Wellness Case Study
The Gemcare Wellness program is designed to help at-risk members reduce or even reverse the onset of type II diabetes. Consisting of classes and lifestyle
Cost-Saving Measures with Your Health Insurance Plan: Q&A with Roundstone Founder Mike Schroeder
Do you want to hear from an expert on how to solve your problem? Because you may be at a crossroads where covering the increases
It’s Hiring Season: How Are You Attracting Top Talent?
Do you have a strategy to offer your employees the best benefits in town without raising their contribution year after year? According to a recent
Health & Wellness Industry Case Study
If you’re in the health and wellness industry, you already know that a robust benefits package is the best way to attract and retain top talent. Affordable, quality health insurance is often cited as a much sought-after benefit in your industry, but many companies feel trapped by rising costs and limited options. Rising healthcare costs have become the second biggest problem facing businesses like yours.
6 Things Benefits Advisors Should Know
It’s a challenging time to be a benefits advisor right now, but you are rising to the challenge. With renewal season upon us, many advisors
Manufacturing Case Study
If you’re in manufacturing, you already know that a robust benefits package is the best way to attract and retain top talent. Affordable, quality health insurance is often cited as a much sought-after benefit in your industry, but many companies feel trapped by rising costs and limited options.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers: Your Self-Funded Plan’s Secret Weapon
If you’ve been considering a self-funded health insurance plan, you may have come across the term Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM), and thought what’s that? A
You’ve Got Control: Plan Document Best Practices
What if there was a way to get control over your healthcare spend, without sacrificing the coverage you want? What you’re looking for is a
Introducing Roundstone’s Association Health Plan!
If your company is part of a professional association, and you’ve been looking for affordable healthcare plans, you’re in luck. As an employer, you want
It Pays to be Flexible!
Keeping an eye on your costs and learning how to contain them can impact your bottom line right now in a big way- it’s time to see just how the flexibility of a self-funded plan can deliver dramatic savings.
Why the Switch to Self-Funded is Easy
There’s been a steady increase in self-funded employer-sponsored health insurance plans over the past two decades. Why is that? Well, for starters, you can save
What’s the New Normal?
For the past several weeks, we’ve all been collectively holding our breath as we followed state and federal guidelines on how to help flatten the
Screening a Telemedicine Provider
It’s no surprise that telemedicine services are gaining in popularity. Both the drop-in nature of these services and the ability to access care without being
A Cash Flow Solution You Might Not Have Thought Of
Many businesses are focused on cash flow right now. There are numerous options for loans, including the Payroll Protection Program (PPP loan) from the government,
It’s Time for a Silver Lining
You have endured health benefit premium increases for years. And now, the fully insured market is teeing up massive rate increases for 2020. You may
The Most Popular Group Health Insurance Program Is…(not what you would expect)
61% of covered workers are now participating in self-funded plans, including 50% of firms with 200-999 employees. Why is self-funding the trend? Simply put: It
What is Consumerism in Healthcare?
By Nate Szabo In its most basic terms, consumerism refers to the theory that spending money and consuming goods is good for the economy. So how
9 Ways to Offset Rising Healthcare Costs
By Matt Monda Many of you recently received double-digit rate increases from your employee benefits carriers. Now you are adjusting your 2020 strategy to absorb
Take Control of Your Next Broker Meeting
By: Mike Schroeder, President Your insurance broker should work for you. Unless you’re already working with Roundstone along with an advisor that approaches benefit funding
Well-Being Programs Promote Long-Term Savings on Health Care Costs
By: Marcy Leonard, Well-Being Coordinator The health of a company’s employees plays an obvious role on the costs of their health care plan. As premiums continue
4 Ways Employee Benefit Advisors Can Grow & Retain Business
By: Rob Hamilton, EVP of Sales & Marketing The health care benefits landscape is becoming increasingly difficult for employers to navigate, especially as insurance premiums
Why Self-Funded Health Plans are a Safe Bet
By: Mike Schroeder, President Are you perplexed by this question: is your company’s health benefits plan fully insured or self-funded? If you answered yes, you’re
Roundstone Unveils Its New Enhanced Website
September 17, 2019 – LAKEWOOD, OH – Roundstone, a Lakewood-based health insurance provider specializing in self-funded group captive solutions, is proud to announce the launch
How Benefit Advisors Can Prepare for Renewal Season
By Mike Schroeder, President As we enter the busy season of securing renewal business while also striving to acquire new clients, I’d like to take
Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Employers
By: Nate Szabo, Cost Containment Consultant High drug costs affect more than just the individuals filling their prescriptions each month. Employers offering private health insurance
Low Cost Digestive Disease Care
Digestive diseases, or gastrointestinal disorders, are ailments of the digestive tract, including the esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. These diseases have become a growing problem in the United States, placing a financial burden on individuals as well as their employer-sponsored health insurers. Digestive disorders are responsible for an extraordinary number of clinical visits and hospitalizations each year. In fact, the Massachusetts Medical Society estimates that overall annual expenditures for digestive disease care totaled more than $136 billion.
Turnkey Solution for Liver Transplant Surgery
While a liver transplant surgery is the second most common transplant surgery after the kidney, it is not a common health care condition faced by a majority of Americans. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, less than 1% of the U.S. population has had an organ transplant. These surgeries are only necessary after every other treatment option has been exhausted and/or completely ruled out. Needless to say, it can be overwhelming to navigate through the process of selecting the right path of care to get the best possible outcome.
Roundstone CSI Dashboard: Data Analytics and Healthcare
By: Book Chrobak, Health Analytics Manager As health prices continue to rise and health insurance premiums soar past inflation, Americans across the country are looking
2019 Roundstone Medical Captive Forum Recap
By: Alice Sabo, Marketing Manager This past May, Roundstone hosted its annual Medical Captive Forum (MCF) at the Global Center for Health Innovation in downtown
Why Does PEPY Matter for Healthcare Plans?
By: Sue Russo, Underwriter With health insurance inflation rates skyrocketing and premiums escalating, American business owners have felt vulnerable to the mercy of the marketplace.
How Group Captive Health Insurance Plans Help Mid-Market Companies Control Costs
Learn how group captive health insurance plans can help participating mid-market companies save enough for an entire year of coverage within their first four years.
Dialysis Repricing
Self-funded group captive health insurance plans offer mid-market employers the opportunity to make the right choices when an employee needs a liver transplant surgery.
From the Desk of Mike Schroeder – February 2019
Health Insurance & Employee Engagement: A Cost Saving Opportunity The health insurance marketplace is doing a pretty good job of introducing new and more effective
4 Ways for Companies to Lower Their Health Benefit Spend in the New Year
Healthcare benefits are a top three-line item expense for most employers. Worse, they are ever increasing, often seeing yearly increases of 10% or more. Unfortunately,
Cultivating a Culture of Health Care Consumerism
Getting your employees involved and educating them on how to be consumers of their own healthcare is the next step to realizing cost savings for your company. Here’s how to heighten employee engagement.
By the Numbers: Are Quality & Cost Mutually Exclusive?
Are you getting the most bang for your healthcare buck? Book Chrobak illustrates the perfect example that you don’t necessarily “get what you pay for” when it comes to medical care.
The RSU Roundup
Rah-rah! Roundstone University just finished it’s first quarter! Our eLearning educational platform was designed specifically for advisors to learn more about Roundstone and captive insurance.
A New Year, A New MCF
Looking for new ways to help your employees? Wondering about the latest technology and strategies available for saving on your company’s health care? Mark your calendars now for the 2019 Roundstone Medical Captive Forum!
Roundstone Brings Transparency to a New Level
Receiving health insurance spend data is nice but a customized, robust analytics dashboard is better! Coming in 2019 to Roundstone participants…for free!
The Top 5 Eligibility Issues Affecting Your Company
Written by Cindi Roberts, Stop Loss Claims Operations Manager Cost containment solutions fall into two broad categories – those focusing on reducing the price of
By the Numbers: Eligibility Audits
Written by Book Chrobak, Health Analytics Manager Many of us read about the importance of the plan document language in last month’s By the Numbers.
Not all Group Health Plans are Created Equal
By Jamie L.C. Pience, Associate General Counsel At Roundstone, we believe in a proactive approach to cost containment and plan language. Precise language which strictly
By the Numbers: Plan Documents
By Book Chrobak, Health Analytics Manager Switching to self-funding health benefits allows employers to take control of their costs, design their benefit coverages, and understand
The Price of Short-Term Thinking
By Mike Schroeder, President Life is full of decisions and choices. These decisions can be addressed from a long-term or short-term perspective. It is not
Education & Transparency: The Keys to RBP
By Ellen Winson, Policy Administration Specialist Employers are continually looking for ways to control medical costs. This is especially true for self-insured employers. One strategy
7 Secrets to Finding a TPA that Fits Your Needs
Matt Monda, Chief Operating Officer At its most basic, self-funding is a mechanism an employer uses to pay for its employees’ health care costs. But
From the Desk of Mike
September of 2018 Edition A business leader is responsible for establishing the strategic direction of their organization. In doing so, they make daily decisions that
A New Age for Women: Advanced Fertility Treatments
Many women in the United States are waiting longer to give birth to their first child. In 1970 the mean age of a woman, when
How the CSI Team Helped One Employer Save $40,000
We introduced the Roundstone Cost Saving Investigators (CSI Team) to help employers optimize the value of transparency and control. The CSI Team is always looking
Who Are The Cost Savings Investigators?
The Cost Savings Investigators (CSI Team) are not a single department, but rather a collection of professionals across several of Roundstone’s departments. They use their
Roundstone Medical Captive Forum 2018: Rewind and Fast Forward
2018 Medical Captive Forum Recap https://vimeo.com/273712650 “I learned more about health insurance in two hours than the past 20 years I spent trying to figure
Captive Forum Review
June of 2018 Edition As we review our recent Captive Forum and place the finishing touches on July 1 business, the importance of controlling the
Missed Subrogation Opportunities Have an Adverse Impact for Both Employer and Captive
Subrogation can be complicated and time consuming. The first few days after an insured claimant suffers a loss are critical information gathering moments. Subrogation tends
Benefits of Having a Subrogation Strategy Plan
What happens when an employee requires medical care for an accident that is not their fault? Say for instance, an employee is driving home from
2018 Spring Roundstone Advisors Council
The spring session of the Roundstone Advisors Council (RAC) was held on May 10, following the 2018 Medical Captive Forum, at Roundstone’s office in Lakewood, OH.
By the Numbers: Organ Transplants
726,950 Organ transplants performed in the past 20 years Although an employee needing an organ transplant is a rare occurrence, statistics show that the number
Is Your Employer Sponsored Health Plan Prepared for the Significant Costs Related to Transplants?
Organ transplantation increased significantly in recent years. Over 30,000 transplants were performed in the US in 2016 alone, a record high for the fourth consecutive
What Is a Healthcare Advocate?
Let’s face it – life can get fairly hectic. Between our careers, our family lives, our social lives, and any number of other outside factors,
How We Saved More Than $20,000 and 81 Hours of Time
Our healthcare system is notoriously difficult to navigate. Providing your members with a Healthcare Advocate is a cost-effective way to help them better navigate the
Saving Costs When Fighting Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disease in the United States. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that approximately 1.7 million
By the Numbers: Late Stage Cancer Diagnosis
Melanoma is 43 times more expensive following diagnosis at Stage IV compared to Stage 0. By Abigail Riolo, Data Analyst In 2016, the American Cancer
Transparency, Control & Cost Savings
February of 2018 Edition Another busy 1/1 season comes to a close. This one seemed to run longer than in years past. Many more employers
How Association Health Plans Can Benefit Small Employers
By Matt Monda, Chief Operating Officer With the election of President Trump, speculation began about how he might fulfill his campaign promise of repealing Affordable
Ways to Save on High Cost Specialty Drugs
Specialty drugs are typically high dollar medications. Many specialty drugs can be administered in a hospital setting, outpatient setting, and at home, but not all
Prescription Drug Spend is Projected to Rise by an Average of 7.3% Annually
Expenditures on prescription drugs are currently one of the fastest rising costs within the healthcare industry. The majority of the growth in drug spend is
Control Your Company’s Healthcare Costs With A Self-Funded Program
By Mike Schroeder, Founder and President New Year’s resolutions often focus on areas of self-improvement. Whether weight loss, generosity or religious commitment, one’s New Year’s
VIDEO: Introduce a Workplace Wellness Program
Marcy Leonard: Introduce a Workplace Wellness Program Launched in 2014, our wellness program has given employees the tools to make a difference with their health.
How to Launch a Well-being Program
By Marcy Leonard, Program Analyst / Wellness Coordinator The growth of wellness programs in small and mid-size companies is exploding. Employers can leverage these programs to
Wellness Programs Impact Bottom Line Analytics
By Abigail Riolo, Data Analyst Recent research shows that savings for every dollar spent on a workplace wellness program ranges from $1.65 – $4.00.Here are some
Focusing on the Long Term
October of 2017 Edition The engines are running fast these days. Not to be confused with the hard running AC because of an unusual September
From the Desk of Mike Schroeder (July Edition)
As we enjoy a summer break and celebrate the birthday of this great country, I step back and reflect on the wins and losses from
Choosing a TPA
At its most basic, self-funding is a mechanism an employer uses to pay for its employees’ health care. It’s also an investment in controlling a
From the Desk of Mike Schroeder
As the 1/1 business draws to a close, I cannot help but recognize the differences in the advisor market. Some appear to sail through the
The Top Five Employer Objections to Captive Insurance
As the January 2017 renewal season comes to a close and the dust begins to settle, Roundstone will again see a significant increase in mid-size
By the Numbers: One Size Does Not Fit All
No two employers are the same, even within the same industry. They can vary based on their size, the ages of their employees or their