Care redirection
Members can use virtual care for routine needs instead of starting with high-cost access points.
Self-Funded Employers
Virtual Care Benefits That Help Self-Funded Employers Save Money.
Health Benefit Strategies helps employers redirect routine care away from costly claims while keeping current benefits, carriers, and broker relationships in place.
Why It Matters
Self-funded plans need a better front door for routine care.
When employees default to the ER, urgent care centers, or avoidable specialist visits, the health plan absorbs costs that could often be handled through a lower-cost virtual care pathway.
HBS adds a HIPAA-secure virtual care platform outside the health plan, giving members access to virtual primary care, urgent care, mental health, pharmacy, and weight health support before common needs become expensive claims.
The goal is simple: give members an easier way to get care and give plan sponsors a measurable cost-containment strategy they can document.
Core Benefits
What self-funded employers get with HBS.
High engagement
HBS is built around practical member adoption, not a benefit that quietly sits unused.
No disruption
Employers can keep their current benefit structure and broker relationship intact.
Where the Savings Come From
Two savings mechanisms, both measurable.
HBS savings are not a vague promise of healthier employees someday. They come from two concrete mechanisms your finance team can track from the first quarter.
1. Care redirection. Every visit that happens on the HBS platform instead of an ER, urgent care center, or in-network office is a claim your plan never pays. Because the platform sits outside the health plan, redirected care produces dollar-for-dollar savings against claims spend — and it protects members too, since routine needs get resolved without out-of-pocket cost or deductible erosion.
2. SIMERP tax savings. The program is funded through a Self-Insured Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (SIMERP), a tax-advantaged structure built on established provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The tax savings it creates cover the cost of the program — which is why HBS runs at no net cost to the company or employees.
Both mechanisms are documented: utilization reporting shows redirected care, and payroll records show the tax savings. Your team can verify the results rather than take them on faith.
Common Questions
Self-funded employer FAQ.
How much can a self-funded employer expect to save?
Savings scale with headcount and utilization. Care redirection produces dollar-for-dollar claims savings for every visit handled on the platform instead of an ER, urgent care center, or specialist office, and the SIMERP funding structure generates guaranteed FICA tax savings. For an estimate based on your employee count and current plan cost, run the free savings calculator.
Do we have to change our TPA, stop-loss carrier, or network?
No. HBS sits entirely outside your health plan, so your TPA, stop-loss coverage, network, and plan documents stay exactly as they are. Nothing about your existing plan design changes.
How is this different from the telehealth benefit already in our plan?
Carrier telehealth benefits typically see very low utilization because members forget they exist — and when they are used, visits still run through the plan. HBS is a standalone, actively communicated benefit with 50%+ average member utilization, and because it sits outside the plan, visits never generate claims.
What does implementation require from our HR team?
Very little. HBS handles enrollment, member communications, and onboarding. Your team coordinates payroll setup for the SIMERP and approves communications. Most employers go from signed agreement to launch in 30 to 60 days.
Is the SIMERP structure compliant?
SIMERPs are built on established provisions of the Internal Revenue Code governing self-insured medical reimbursement plans and wellness programs. HBS provides full plan documentation for your legal and tax advisors to review before launch.
Want numbers for your plan? Run the free 60-second savings calculator →
Related Resources
Build a stronger benefits strategy.
These supporting pages explain how HBS fits different buyer needs, from level-funded plans to broker partnerships and fiduciary stewardship.
Virtual Primary Care Give employees a practical first stop for common care needs.
Fiduciary Cost Containment Document prudent efforts to manage plan spend.
Broker Partners Add a cost-containment story without replacing relationships.
Level-Funded Savings Protect level-funded plan performance with care redirection.
Ready to reduce self-funded plan spend?
Schedule a discovery call to see how HBS can work outside your current health plan.