From what I’ve been seeing in the industry all across the U.S., there has never been a greater interest in self-funding. TPAs are hearing from employers who have looked into the concept before and are ready to get serious about it … we’re also fielding inquiries from employers who are starting to embrace the idea after never even considering it as an option for their companies.

Why this growing interest? Why now? I could give you a hundred reasons, but it all seems to circle back to one: flexibility. In a time when employers must navigate the uncertainties of what’s to come in health care with regard to things like rate hikes and reform, flexibility is everything.

And that’s exactly what self-funding offers. Consider stop loss insurance and risk-transfer. Today, there are more options than ever for large, mid-sized and small groups alike. Another example? The incredible variety among plan types. We’re talking everything from Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) to Reference-Based Pricing and High Deductible. Plus, employers appreciate the ability to custom-build their plans based on the creative benefit solutions they value most. Employee wellness programs, telemedicine services, prescription cost management … it’s a “your say, your way” kind of approach.

It may be a challenging time for health care as a whole in 2015, but in the world of self-funding, the opportunities abound. Employers are catching on. They understand that self-funding translates to flexibility. They see how it takes individual workforces into account and eliminates that old-school, one-size-fits-all way of thinking.