Collaborative strategies to fund your employee benefits A credit union’s greatest asset is not a line item on the balance sheet — it is our employees. When it comes to attracting and retaining the very best individuals, credit unions need competitive employee benefit programs that highlight the exceptional things we do as a movement. How can we continue offering competitive benefit plans when the trajectory of healthcare costs is rising at such a fast pace? Exploring collaborative funding strategies is a great way to start. Background Most small and mid-size credit unions purchase health insurance that cover employee medical claims using a fully-insured model. Fully-insured models are popular because of their perceived simplicity and low risk. However, no matter how healthy our group is, every credit union knows that fully-insured plans increase in cost every year. And we rarely receive claims data information to know why our premiums continually increase. The fully-insured model is structured and designed to benefit the insurance carrier only.