About this episode

A panel discussion featuring two employers sharing their experiences with self-funded health plans and strategies for cost management.

At SHRM26, moderator Chelsea Ryckis and Ethos Benefits co-founder Donovan Ryckis brought two employers on stage to show what taking control of a self-funded health plan looks like in dollars and cents. Stephanie Porrino (formerly HR Director at Hendry Marine Industries, now Founder & CEO of Empower Healthcare Insights) and Jaimie Jarvis (HR Director at Kalos Services) walk through the plan changes, broker breakups, and multi-year strategy that took their companies from reactive renewals to governed, fiduciary-driven plans, backed by real claims data. We cover the four moving parts of every health plan (PBM, network, TPA, stop loss), why fully funded and level funded plans leave employers with no real data, how reference-based pricing works, and how two very different employers landed in the same place: lower costs, better access to care, and employees who feel it.What you'll learn: Fully funded vs. level funded vs. self-funded, and why most employers never see their real claims data How reference-based pricing works, and why 13 states have already adopted it A 300-employee shipyard's five-year case study: 77% off billed hospital claims How a construction company went from a…

People in this episode

Host: Chelsea Ryckis

Guests: Stephanie Porrino, Jaimie Jarvis

Topics covered

• self-funded health plans
• healthcare cost management
• employer case studies
• claims data
• reference-based pricing
• health plan strategies

Keywords

• self-funded
• health plan
• claims data
• reference-based pricing
• employer case studies
• cost management
• healthcare access

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hendry Marine Industries, Empower Healthcare Insights, Kalos Services, SHRM26, Ethos Benefits

More episodes of The Business of Benefits Podcast

• 81. Why Your Wellness Program Isn't Working: The Data-Driven Fix for Employee Burnout w/ Dr. Romie Mushtaq · July 2, 2026 · 44 min
• 80. Built Different: The Ethos Story w/ Chelsea Ryckis & Donovan Ryckis · June 18, 2026 · 35 min

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