Self-Funding
Stop Overpaying for “Risk” You Don’t Actually Have
Use a self-funded or level-funded health plan to gain visibility into healthcare spending, reduce waste, and create more predictable costs without exposing your company to catastrophic claims.
A Better Benefits Strategy Starts Here
- Transparent Healthcare Spending
- Stop-Loss Risk Protection
- Predictable Renewal Costs
- Self-funded strategies for mid-sized employers (25–500 employees)
- Stop-loss protected, level-funded and self-funded plans made manageable
- Monthly claims reporting presented in simple language that shows you how your premium dollars are being allocated
Are rising employee health insurance costs quietly draining your business?
When healthcare costs climb year after year, it doesn’t just hit your budget. It starts stealing from raises and bonuses, shrinking operating capital, and forcing painful benefit cuts that erode employee trust. Meanwhile, renewals increases are “unsustainable,” and you’re left trying to compete for talent with a plan that feels harder to afford and harder to justify.
The worst part is this: most employers are told the only control they have is to “shop harder” at renewal. But premium negotiating only distracts from the real problem.
It’s time to stop guessing and start controlling the factors that are driving your costs.
Are Your Employee Benefits Creating More Problems Than They Solve?
“We’re paying more every year, but we have zero visibility into where the money goes.”
“Renewal season is exhausting.
“Self-funding sounds risky. One big claim could wreck our budget.”
“We keep overpaying for ‘risk’ and still don’t feel protected.”
“Nobody can explain the solution in plain English.”
When you’re stuck in a fully insured plan you often pay for layers of margin, fees, and “buffers” that have less to do with your group’s health risk, and more to do with the insurance company. You absorb renewal increases, shift more cost onto employees, and still end up with budget uncertainty and low satisfaction.
There’s a better way. With today’s level-funded and self-funded health plans, mid-sized employers gain access to cost transparency, stronger control, and predictable protection without the complexity and risk most fear.
Self-Funding Made Easy
Many small to mid-sized employers assume self-funded health insurance is too complex or too risky for companies of their size. However, in actuality, today’s level-funded and self-funded health plans give small to mid-sized employers similar cost transparency, control, and flexibility as that of their larger counter parts with protections in place to guard against catastrophic claims. In fact, 67% of all U.S. workers with employer-sponsored health insurance are covered by some form of self-funded medical plans.* (*Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey.)
We don’t believe in unnecessarily complicating topics as a sales tactic. We translate self-funding concepts into a practical, manageable strategy even first-time buyers can navigate. We show you who the players are, what each one does, how they’re paid, and where your dollars are allocated each month. We place stop-loss protection to protect you from catastrophic claims, provide clear reporting, and an easy-to-follow action so you can move forward with confidence instead of fear.
What’s Included in Your Self-Funded Strategy
Self-Funding Feasibility Analysis
We’ll help you determine whether self-funding is a viable strategy for your organization. You’ll feel confidence knowing that you’re making an informed decision rather than gambling with your benefits budget.
Claims Data & Cost Driver Analysis
We identify what’s actually driving your employee healthcare spending along with savings opportunities. You’ll gain clarity and start to make decisions based on facts.
Funding Strategy Design
Align funding structure, plan design, and fiscal objectives with your organization’s goals. Employee benefits become a strategic asset that supports growth rather than an ongoing pain point.
Stop-Loss Strategy & Vendor Evaluation
We protect your organization from catastrophic claims while optimizing plan performance. You gain peace of mind knowing that you’re protected from unexpected claims shock.
Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) Review
Uncover hidden fees, rebate leakage, and unnecessary prescription spending. Our guidance delivers confidence that healthcare dollars are being spent on employees rather than enriching Big Pharma’s middlemen.
Alternative Cost Containment Strategies
We evaluate solutions such as reference-based pricing (RBP), direct contracting, centers of excellence, and care navigation to determine the best fit for you. Alternative financing strategies deliver greater control over spending without shifting expenses to employees unnecessarily.
Ongoing Claims Monitoring & Strategic Reviews
Monthly meetings to continuously evaluate plan performance and monitor emerging trends throughout the year. You don’t have to wait anxiously for renewal season to uncover bad news.
Employee Benefits Communication Support
We work to help employees understand and properly utilize their benefits, so they feel supported, informed and more appreciative of your investment.
Vendor & TPA Management
We coordinate carriers, Third Party Administrators (TPAs), PBMs, stop-loss providers, and digital tools so that you don’t have to. The administrative burden of staying on top of vendors and holding them accountable becomes our job rather than the job of your HR and leadership teams.
Strategic Benefits Advisor Support
You receive ongoing guidance from our experienced benefits consulting team.
Our Services
Need Help?
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Your Clear Path to Better Benefits
Step 1: Schedule a Strategy Conversation
We begin with a structured discussion about your organization’s goals, challenges, and current benefits approach. Every conversation is led directly by our founder and principal advisor, ensuring you receive senior-level strategic perspective from the start.
This is a working conversation, not a sales presentation. There is no obligation and no pressure. The purpose of this conversation is to deliver clarity and insight regardless of our decision to work together.
Step 2: Our Engagement Process
Assessment
We evaluate your current health insurance and benefits, identifying cost drivers, administrative challenges, inefficiencies and strategic opportunities.
Strategy Design
Using insights from our assessment, we develop a tailored roadmap that ensures benefits decisions are aligned with your business objectives.
Execution & Optimization
We implement solutions and continuously refine performance across the framework to ensure long-term results. From there, we share perspective on where strategic improvements may exist and outline potential paths forward.
Step 3: Your Outcome
You gain clear insight into what is working, what is costing you, and where meaningful improvements can be made. The result is a practical framework for making smarter benefits decisions with greater confidence.
3 Questions We Couldn’t Answer Before Morrow Benefits…
Frequently Asked Questions…
Is self-funded health insurance too risky for a company our size?
Not with the right structure. We use stop-loss protection and smart risk management so you get the benefits of self-funding without exposing the company to catastrophic volatility.
Will this create more work for HR?
Usually the opposite. We take the lead on designing the strategy and coordinating vendors. We streamline the messy parts so HR spends less time on benefits administration, not more.
How do we know self-funding actually works long-term?
With fully insured plans, carriers build in margins and buffers. With a self-funded approach, when your plan performs well, more of that value stays with the employer so performance improves over time instead of resetting every renewal.
What if leadership is skeptical or doesn’t understand the model?
That’s common. We explain the strategy in plain English, identifying who the players are, how money moves, and how risk is protected so your leadership can make informed and confident decisions.
What if employees panic about change?
Communication is part of the strategy. We marry plan changes with clear, professional messaging so employees understand what they have, how to use it, and why the plan is improving.