Traditional group health insurance is designed to benefit the carrier — not your business. Ascend helps growing employers break that cycle with level-funded and reference-based pricing plans that put control back in your hands.
For employers with 2–250 employees, the traditional fully insured plan is the default — but compared to fully insured alternatives, a level-funded health plan delivers significant cost savings. Here's what's actually happening to your money every year — and why level funded health plans are becoming the preferred alternative to traditional health insurance plans for employers of all sizes.
Even if your employees have a healthy year, your renewal still goes up. You never see the upside — only the downside.
Traditional carriers don't share your claims data, making smarter decisions at renewal impossible.
When healthcare costs eat into profits, there's less money for salaries and benefits — and top talent walks.
We offer all three plan types and specialize in finding the right fit for your business. Level-funded plans deliver predictable costs with surplus refunds. RBP plans offer maximum freedom with no network restrictions. Both deliver significant savings over traditional insurance.
A level-funded health plan gives your business the best of both worlds — predictable monthly fixed payments combined with the cost-saving potential of alternative funding. Each month, the employer pays a fixed monthly amount broken into three components: a claims fund to cover expected medical expenses, stop-loss insurance to cap catastrophic risk, and a third party administrator fee covering plan administration, network access, and compliance support.
Unlike a traditional fully insured plan, you pay for actual claims — not estimated premiums. The claims fund belongs to your group health plan. If your employees stay healthier than projected, the surplus stays with you — not the carrier. At year end, you may receive a refund on unused claims fund dollars.
There is no cash advance required — making level-funding significantly more cash-flow friendly than a fully insured plan for growing businesses. The advantage of level funding is clear: predictable monthly costs, full claims transparency, and real cost savings compared to fully insured group health plans — all backed by stop-loss insurance so your maximum exposure is capped from day one.
Predictable monthly payments — no surprise invoices mid-year
Surplus refunds when your group's claims come in under budget
Pay only for actual claims — not the carrier's estimated projections
Stop-loss protection caps your exposure on high-cost claims
Claims data visibility — know what's driving costs before renewal
Access to major PPO networks — UnitedHealth, Cigna, Aetna, PHCS
Reference-Based Pricing is a powerful cost containment strategy that eliminates the inflated chargemaster game entirely. Instead of paying a discounted percentage of an artificially inflated hospital price, RBP reimburses providers at a transparent percentage above Medicare rates — typically 130–150%.
Employees can see any licensed provider in the country with no network restrictions — no referrals, no in-network limitations, no surprise bills from out-of-network providers. RBP plans consistently trend at 5% or more below traditional PPO cost increases year over year.
Stop-loss insurance is built into every RBP arrangement, giving employers predictable maximum exposure with none of the carrier markup. Claims data is fully transparent, giving you visibility that traditional plans never provide.
See any licensed provider — no network restrictions nationwide
Medicare-based reimbursement — transparent, fair pricing for every medical service
Stop-loss protection included — caps employer exposure on every claim
Full claims transparency — complete visibility into what's driving costs
Trends 5%+ below PPO — year-over-year cost advantages vs. traditional plans
No chargemaster markup — eliminates inflated hospital pricing entirely
We offer traditional fully-insured group plans and will always present them as an option — but for most employers with 2–250 employees, they are not the most cost-effective choice.
With traditional insurance, the carrier pools your employees with thousands of others, prices the risk conservatively, and keeps the profit when claims come in lower than projected. You have no visibility into claims data and no ability to benefit from a healthy workforce.
That said, traditional plans can be the right fit in specific situations. Our job is to give you an honest, unbiased analysis and recommend the plan type that actually serves your business best.
Simple administration — carrier handles all claims processing
Predictable costs — fixed premium, no claims risk to employer
Premiums rise every year regardless of your group's claims history
Zero claims transparency — carrier keeps your data
No surplus refund — carrier keeps all profit from low-claim years
Not every employer is the right fit for every plan type on day one. Our job is to give you an honest, data-driven recommendation backed by 15 years of industry experience.
We start by understanding what you're paying now and where the cost drivers are.
We look at your group's size, age distribution, and health profile to find the right model.
We build a plan tailored to your workforce with appropriate stop-loss thresholds.
As an independent consultant, we compare across top-rated TPAs to secure the best deal.
We monitor your plan throughout the year and bring data-driven recommendations to every renewal.
Both plan types give your employees broad access to quality care — just structured differently.
Access through the nation's largest PPO networks — same doctors and hospitals your employees already use.
No network restrictions — employees can see any licensed doctor or hospital in the country. Transparent Medicare-based pricing with no chargemaster markup.
See exactly how level-funded and RBP plans compare to traditional group insurance across the factors that matter most.
| Feature | Level-Funded | Reference-Based Pricing | Traditional Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay only for actual claims | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Surplus refund if claims are low | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Claims data transparency | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Predictable monthly payments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stop-loss protection included | ✓ | ✓ | Built-in |
| Customizable plan design | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| No network restrictions | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Medicare-based pricing | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Access to major PPO networks | ✓ | No Network — See Any Provider | ✓ |
| Potential savings vs. traditional | Up to 30% | Up to 30%+ | Baseline (higher cost) |
Every package is layered in a specific order so each piece works together — giving your employees significantly better benefits while keeping your net cost at or below what you spend today.