Issues Facing Public Sector Entities

segalco-issuesfacingpublicsector-172Segal can help public sector employers with a variety of problems and challenges that arise in the course of managing benefit plans.


Issue: Health care costs are going up, making it more expensive to provide health coverage for your employees

Have you considered...

  • Reevaluating your plan design
  • Negotiating discounts from and monitoring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other vendors
  • Negotiating with your insurance carrier regarding your plan rates and contractual arrangements
  • A consumer-driven health plan, which encourages employees to make smart choices about how they use their benefits
  • Identifying which conditions and employee groups are responsible for the bulk of your claims, and using a disease management system to improve this group's health and reduce claims

Related Segal Resources:


Issue: You’re having trouble supporting health benefits for retirees

Have you considered...

  • Developing plan designs that include multiple options for medical coverage with different premium rates for retirees
  • A retiree health VEBA, which is a trust that is established to provide tax-free retiree health benefits to current and/or future retirees
  • Reviewing and revising eligibility rules
  • Developing new ways to coordinate coverage with Medicare, including a supplemental approach
  • Encouraging retirees to become better health care consumers

Related Segal resources:


Issue: Administrative costs are eating up a large chunk of your budget

Have you considered...

  • Searching for a third-party administrator or reevaluating the one you currently have
  • Holding seminars, distributing materials, or creating a website to educate employees about their benefits and reduce individual information requests

Related Segal resources:


Issue: You're getting low returns on your investments

Have you considered...

  • Reexamining your investment strategy
  • Searching for a new investment manager
  • Launching an investment education campaign for employees if you have employee-directed investment accounts

Related Segal resources:

*These services are provided by Segal Advisors, The Segal Company's SEC-registered investment consulting affiliate


Issue: You're not sure how new legislation and regulations affect your benefit plans

Have you considered...

  • Conducting a compliance review to make sure you are in compliance with the law
  • Consulting Segal's compliance publications: Capital Checkup and Compliance Alert
  • Subscribing to Segal's publications for public sector employers to get updates on the impact of new legislation and regulations

Related Segal Resources