Employer-owned health
Some companies should keep a traditional employer plan — for now, or for good. Step 3 exists for exactly that: a genuine, all-market request for proposals that puts every carrier and every funding model in real competition for your business. It's the floor of the plan, not the ceiling — and it still typically finds 18–25%.
What a real RFP is (and isn't)
“We shopped it around” is the most abused phrase in this industry. What usually happens: your broker asks the same two or three carriers for this year's price, presents the least-bad option, and calls it a market check. Nothing about your plan design, funding model, or network was actually put in competition.
A genuine RFP is different. Your census and claims picture go to the entire market — every carrier that fits your profile, every funding model, alternative plan designs and networks — with the terms in writing and the bids scored side by side. Carriers behave differently when they know they're actually competing.
Why broker-run “market checks” come back flat
Remember the incentive. A traditional broker is paid a percentage of your premium, so a dramatically cheaper structure is a pay cut. On top of that, carriers quietly pay brokers roughly $20–40 per employee per month out of your premium — money you never see itemized. On a 100-person plan, that's on the order of $24,000–$48,000 a year embedded in your costs before anyone starts “negotiating.”
Revival Health takes no commission from any carrier or vendor — on this step or any other. Every bid is evaluated net of compensation, every recommendation is free to be the cheapest one, and the findings go in writing.
Every funding model, actually explained
Most owners have only ever been sold one of these. The RFP prices all three against your actual census.
The default. You pay a fixed premium; the carrier takes the claims risk — and keeps the surplus in good years. Simple and predictable, but you're renting the risk pool at retail, and the renewal reprices you every year with no memory of your good ones.
Self-funding with training wheels: level monthly payments covering expected claims, administration, and stop-loss insurance, with the chance of money back after a good year. Worth pricing — but remember the company that ran a 56% loss ratio and still got asked for 67% more. A good year guarantees nothing at repricing.
You pay your own claims directly, with stop-loss insurance capping catastrophic exposure (commonly attaching around $100K per person). Maximum control and transparency — economically you're already carrying the risk on any funding model; the question is whether you're controlling it. Powerful with the right management, punishing without it.
Where RFP savings actually come from
The bid isn't just a lower premium — the deeper savings come from restructuring what the plan buys.
- Funding-model arbitrage — moving from retail fully-insured pricing to the structure your claims profile actually earns
- Network and plan-design changes that cut cost without gutting the benefit
- Directing big-ticket procedures to honest prices — a knee replacement can run $25–35K through a curated network vs. $90–140K unmanaged
- Stripping embedded compensation and middleman markup out of every quote
How the ~30-day process runs
You share what you already have — census, current plan design, renewal history, claims experience where available. Your team's time commitment is measured in hours, not weeks.
We package the RFP and put it in front of the full market — carriers, funding structures, networks — with the scoring criteria fixed in advance so nobody can game the comparison.
Every response is scored net of compensation, and the finalists get negotiated hard. Carriers sharpen their pencils when the competition is real — sometimes including your incumbent.
You get the side-by-side: what each structure delivers, what we recommend, and the documented savings figure — typically inside 30 days, backed by the same guarantee as everything else we do.
The floor, not the ceiling
We're honest about this step's place in the sequence: it's the fallback. Even a great RFP leaves you owning the plan, riding the renewal cycle, and exposed to next year's claims. That's why Steps 1 and 2 come first — they change the structure, not just the price.
But “floor” doesn't mean small. On a $3M annual spend, 18–25% is $540K–$750K a year — real, documented money, negotiated without a single commission steering the outcome. Standing pat is almost always the most expensive option on the table.
Can we keep our broker?
Yes. You'll never be asked to fire anyone — that promise is written into the engagement letter. The RFP's job is to put the truth on the table; what you do with your relationships is entirely your call. Plenty of clients keep their broker for day-to-day service and let the documented market numbers do the negotiating.
Step 3 questions, answered
Where this step fits.
Get a real number from the whole market.
Tell Virtual John your headcount and renewal date — he'll show you what the RFP path typically finds, and the real John puts your exact figure in writing.