Turn healthcare into a managed financial strategy.
Know where the money goes, what's driving trend, and which moves create a measurable return, all year long instead of only at renewal.
“Why did our renewal go up again?”
Benefits that Care. Strategies that Work.
Your health plan is spending money. Is it creating value?
ECG finds the dollars hiding in your healthcare supply chain and puts them back to work: a lower plan cost for you, and $0 out-of-pocket care for your employees.
● Consultants paid on results, not commissions. We often work alongside your broker.
- Clinton County−33% at renewal
- Siedhoff Distributing$292K saved in year one
- Enertech GlobalRx cost −$281K in 12 months
- Ronnoco Beverage$229K saved in 15 months
- City of CarlyleHealth budget −40%
- City of Red BudSame $250 deductible since 2007
01 · What we do
From passive renewal to active management.
Most renewals show you what healthcare costs and ask you to pick a plan. ECG asks why it costs that much, then changes how your plan buys care.
-
STEP 01
Find the waste.
We go through your claims, contracts, pharmacy spend, and fees line by line.
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STEP 02
Fix the cost drivers.
We replace markups and middlemen with smarter, direct purchasing.
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STEP 03
Improve the benefit.
We turn the savings into better access and $0 care for your people.
02 · Who we work with
A health plan should strengthen the organization it serves.
We work with leaders who want a strategy they can understand, accountability they can measure, and benefits their people actually use.
Offer benefits employees can actually use.
Remove out-of-pocket barriers, make the best care easy to find, and give your people a real person to call.
“Why aren't employees using what we pay for?”
Redirect savings to what matters.
Protect jobs, strengthen your mission, improve retention, or reinvest in the organization's future.
“What could we do with that money instead?”
03 · Zero-cost care
Care your employees can use without reaching for their wallet.
We contract directly with high-quality surgeons, specialists, imaging centers, and labs, then pass the savings straight to your people. The goal is simple: nothing out of pocket for most of their care.
- Labs & bloodwork$0
- Imaging MRI · CT · X-ray$0
- Virtual care$0
- Generic prescriptions$0
- Direct-contracted procedures$0
- Direct-contracted surgeries$0
ECG Care Navigation
One call connects employees with a real person who finds the $0 option and books the appointment. It's often days sooner than waiting on a prior authorization.
“Most employers don't have a healthcare budget problem. They have a healthcare purchasing problem.”
04 · What ECG changes
Stop managing increases. Start managing the supply chain.
Four levers most renewals never touch. We pull all of them, all year.
-
01
Pharmacy strategy
Most prescriptions never need to touch a PBM markup. Employees get free generics, and high-cost specialty drugs are sourced a smarter way.
Most scripts bypass the PBM entirely -
02
Direct care
Direct contracts with surgeons, specialists, imaging, and labs at transparent prices, with no network markup and no waiting in line.
Often around half of insurance pricing -
03
Risk financing
Stop-loss and captive structures built to return the dollars you don't use, instead of leaving them with the carrier.
Unused premium comes back to you -
04
Member navigation
A real person helps employees find the right care at the right price, so the savings actually get used.
A person, not a phone tree
05 · How we work
A disciplined path from data to durable results.
We don't start with a carrier quote. We start by understanding where your dollars go and whether they're working for you.
-
PHASE 01
Diagnose
A clear picture of cost, utilization, contracts, and friction.
- Claims & trend analysis
- Rx Spend MRI
- Contract & fee review
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PHASE 02
Design
A plan built around your people, goals, and appetite for change.
- Executive review
- Funding & risk strategy
- Implementation blueprint
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PHASE 03
Implement
We coordinate partners, communication, and the employee experience.
- Vendor accountability
- Enrollment support
- Employee education
-
PHASE 04
Govern
We manage the plan all year, not just when renewal arrives.
- Cost-driver reviews
- Performance reporting
- Continuous improvement
06 · Client results
Public, private, and not-for-profit employers keeping more of their healthcare dollars.
≈3%
average annual increase, 20 years
Two decades of cost stability
A $200 deductible held unchanged for 20 years. The employee's monthly contribution moved from $50 to just $52.
$473K
total value returned
Value returned to the mission
Pharmacy savings, manufacturer rebates, and captive underwriting profit, reclaimed for the organization.
$292K
saved in year one
A trucking company changes course
A family-owned business with 86 employees enrolled needed a new way to manage costs. Working with ECG paid off in the first year.
Bill Schmaltz, founder. Co-author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Fixing American Healthcare.
07 · About ECG
Helping employers fix healthcare, one plan at a time.
Employers Consulting Group is an independent healthcare consulting firm in St. Louis. Our team pairs cost strategists with a practicing nurse practitioner, claims specialists, and pharmacy experts, and we ask the questions others avoid.
- Based inSt. Louis, Missouri
- Serving employersFor nearly 20 years
- NetworkNextGen Benefits partners nationwide
- Paid onResults, not commissions
Start here
What is your renewal not telling you?
Start with a fact-based look at your current plan. In a few minutes, the Health Plan MRI scores your plan across six areas and shows where the opportunities are. Or talk it through with Bill directly.