Employer Advantages

Self-funded employers who join the Northcentral Employers Healthcare Alliance benefit from lower health care costs, improved access to health care services, administrative efficiencies, and shared knowledge. Self-funding eliminates paying for the overhead and profit margins of insurance carriers, while NEHA membership provides the support services you need to provide your employees with high quality, more cost-effective health care benefits. Specifically, NEHA members often cite the following advantages:

Group strength/lower costs for member companies

NEHA brings like-minded employers together to obtain greater negotiating and purchasing power with health care providers in north central Wisconsin. We believe that our negotiated prices are superior to other networks offered by national insurers and third-party administrators.

Healthcare management support

NEHA provides its members with robust health plan reporting and analytic tools through our data management partner, HDMS to help employers manage health care more efficiently and cost effectively. You’ll receive easy and timely access to your organization’s specific enrollment and claims data for more efficient reporting and benchmarking. We also help employers select health care vendors throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and manage the provider relationships to ensure quality services at lower costs. NEHA does not dictate company plan designs or benefit levels; member companies have full control to establish plan designs that work for their specific needs within certain parameters of the networks being offered.

Third party administrators and pharmacy benefit managers

Through a rigorous vendor selection process, the NEHA establishes preferred relationships with a limited number of third party administrators and pharmacy benefit managers with whom member companies can place their administrative services.  Administrative fees are negotiated for the entire NEHA group, and performance standards are monitored, relieving employers of these burdens.

Preferred relationships for ancillary benefits

The NEHA also has preferred relationships through group purchasing of the following ancillary benefits that employer members can implement:

  • Stand-alone dental plans through UMR or Delta Dental, the latter offering a choice of two networks
  • Stand-alone vision plan through Wyssta Insurance Company, (a subsidiary of Delta Dental of Wisconsin)
  • On-site or near site clinic services through Ascension Employer Solutions
  • Care and condition management through UMR or Auxiant
  • Self-insured short-term disability administration through UMR or Auxiant

Networking and informative meetings/group discussions

Roundtable luncheon discussions among NEHA members are held every other month to facilitate the sharing of ideas and to educate member companies about new developments and strategies in health care management.

Broad and narrow community medical networks

Employers have their choice of utilizing NEHA negotiated contracts for both broad and narrow provider networks. Employers can provide their employees with access to Aspirus Health System, Ascension WI and Marshfield Clinic through our PPO Broad Network (See Map). Or the employer can choose a narrow community network by specifying either Aspirus (See Map), Ascension (See Map) or Marshfield (See Map) as the preferred provider to achieve greater savings.  For employers with employees outside the NEHA service area, our third-party administrators can set up a network within the employers' overall plan to cover employees nationwide. Our provider contracts also offer discounts on health care that are billed to the employer's workers' compensation carrier, should the carrier choose to participate in a re-pricing service offered through Auxiant.

All NEHA networks also include tertiary providers if care outside of north central Wisconsin is needed. Tertiary providers include UW Health in Madison; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital, and The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee; Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN; and Fairview Hospitals in Minneapolis, MN.

All NEHA networks also offer access to more than 200 ancillary health care providers (such as chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, and behavioral health specialists) under contract to NEHA, and a national transplant network through OptumHealth.

NEHA also uses its purchasing power to increase members' access to more options for comprehensive care such as on-site or near-site clinics.

Preserve the employers’ broker or benefit consultant relationships

Employers can join NEHA without changing what makes the employer’s current self-funded health plan unique and special to their employees! NEHA welcomes all brokers and benefit consultants, who work closely with Coalition Services, so the employer can continue those relationships. NEHA has the ability to give data to the broker or consultant to assist them in advising the employer.