Martin E. Segal founded the firm in New York
Competitive bidding
We were one of the first companies to introduce the practice of competitive bidding for group medical insurance contracts using objective, uniform, detailed specification letters.
Relative value schedules
Our study of surgical benefit claims in California formed the basis of the California Medical Association’s design of the first relative value schedule.
Sabbaticals
We were one of the first companies to recognize the value of sabbaticals in supporting attraction and retention and to offer them to our employees, helping them gain a new perspective on their work and life, and providing opportunities for others to take on more responsibility by temporarily filling the position for the person on sabbatical.
Health and financial well-being benefits
HMO development: We helped clients assess the merits of HMOs having worked with many clients on their in-house clinics over the years.
Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs): We created the concept of the PPO.
Actuarial asset valuation method
We developed an actuarial valuation method for a state retirement system to allocate extra money earned from investments to each municipality, stabilize overall costs to the fund, and credit each municipality with a minimum rate of return each year.
The Life Cycle Pension Plan
We developed a defined benefit plan that combines the strengths of traditional pension plans and cash balance plans, providing fair retirement benefits based on salary and years of service for all employees, regardless of tenure. Unlike cash balance plans, our design eliminated the need for individual recordkeeping, removed reliance on market performance and ensured clear communication of the plan to all stakeholders.
Securing non-qualified benefits
We led the way in creating a risk-insurance method to protect non-qualified benefits, moving away from traditional corporate-owned life insurance and split-dollar plans. Initially underwritten by Lloyds of London, this method is now offered by at least four global insurers in a competitive market.
MediMACS
As an alternative to usual, customary and reasonable fee schedules, we created the MediMACS physician reimbursement system: a more equitable, predictable, and sustainable approach to healthcare reimbursement, allowing providers to offer medical services without financial struggles or care interruptions.
Lifecycle benefits
To address a client’s interest in providing "work-family" benefits to employees, we designed a program that gave employees the flexibility to spend a defined amount of employer-provided funds on work-family programs, including elder care, housing assistance and dependent tuition, over the course of their careers. Money magazine recognized this life cycle assistance program, the first of its kind, as "the most spectacular new [benefits] feature of the year."
Work-Life Calculator
We developed a return-on-investment calculator to provide clients with reliable data demonstrating the quantitative value of non-traditional benefits like work/life and EAP programs. This tool, which computes savings in a variety of categories, including time saved, productivity, absenteeism, retention, and health and disability costs, can be customized to measure specific employee demographics and programs.
Web-based tools
Segal Pulse: In 2016, we introduced a new web-based version of our modeling tool, which dynamically generates financial and actuarial deterministic projections. See our modeling.
SHAPE (Segal’s Health Analysis of Plan Experience): We developed a health plan cost data-mining technology that allows plan sponsors to create sustainable solutions to uncover and manage the root causes of rising healthcare costs and improve population health. Learn more.
Ref360®: We created a user-friendly, web-based tool that allows sports leagues to track, monitor and assess officials’ performance and customize the level of evaluation and analytics to meet their needs easily and efficiently. Take a tour.
Workforce analytics
- COVID-19 medical plan and short-term disability cost-impact models: We developed a model to forecast the impact of COVID-19 on health plan costs, including the cost of testing and treatment.
- M&A readiness self-assessments: In 2020, we launched a pre-deal diagnostic tool to help organizations assess their readiness for M&A and prepare for the deal.
- Workforce planning model: Our workforce-analytics modeling tool can project the quantitative impact of various scenarios on your organization and people, along with the associated risks.
Employee segmentation
Our workforce analytics solution merges all vital employee information into one centralized database and allows for segmenting the workforce based on key roles and talent — giving HR leaders the power to pinpoint employee needs and design personalized benefits programs and targeted communications, as well as improve management of benefit program costs.
Automated vendor RFP tool
This tool improves efficiency and reduces turnaround time on RFP reports from three to four weeks to one day. The time and resource savings allow our consultants to focus on in-depth analysis of client needs and developing solutions.
Employee engagement solution
This solution facilitates employer communication and employee engagement at every stage in the employee lifecycle, such as onboarding, parental, disability or other leaves of absence, as well as providing sensitive assistance through offboarding or retirement.
Employee benefits in DEI
Launched in September 2022, this innovative solution helps organizations meet their DEI goals by reviewing their health and retirement employee benefit programs through a DEI lens. It also helps them address the barriers some populations face which prevent their full participation in employer-sponsored benefits. Take our self-assessment.
