EMPLOYER SOLUTIONS
For Employers Who Already Know the Problem
Some employers do not need to be convinced that their health plan has become too expensive. They already know the renewal is too high. They already know the current process has become repetitive. For those employers, Cognizant provides a Second Opinion Benefits Analysis, or SOBA, to evaluate whether the current health plan remains the most efficient structure available for the company funding it.
SOBA is not simply a quote-gathering exercise. It is a structured review of whether the current plan design, funding arrangement, network strategy, contribution model, and alternative market options still align with the employer's needs and economics.
When SOBA Makes Sense
Is our renewal justified?
Are we in the right funding arrangement?
Are we overpaying for access to the same or similar provider marketplace?
Should we consider level funding, self-funding, captive arrangements, reference-based pricing, or hybrid structures?
Has our current broker shown us the full range of available options?
Are we funding the most efficient health plan structure for our company?
What SOBA Reviews
Current renewal position
Existing plan design
Employer and employees contribution strategy
Funding arrangement
Claims experience, where available
Network and reimbursement structure
Alternative market options
Level-funded and self-funded feasibility
Captive arrangement suitability
Reference-based pricing or hybrid reimbursement options
Economic comparison of available structures
Special Circumstances
Some employers are not simply shopping for a lower quote.
They are stuck.
They may be facing a difficult renewal, poor broker execution, limited carrier options, underwriting complications, network disruption, contribution strategy problems, enrollment issues, or confusion about which funding arrangement makes the most sense.
In those situations, the employer often needs more than another spreadsheet of options.
They need a problem solver.
Cognizant represents the employer, not the insurance company. The role is to understand the system, identify the available paths, solve the problem, and help implement the structure that best serves the company and its employees.
The Practical Question
Most employers are not trying to buy "insurance." They are trying to fund a health plan that employees can use, the company can afford, and the business can sustain. That requires more than reviewing the renewal. It requires asking whether the current structure is still the right structure. SOBA answers that question.
Full Benefits Program Review
SOBA begins with the medical plan because that is usually where the greatest financial pressure exists.
But Cognizant also reviews and supports the broader group benefits program, including dental, vision, group life, short-term disability, long-term disability, voluntary benefits, Section 125 premium-only plans, cafeteria plan considerations, employees contribution strategy, renewal coordination, enrollment support, and ancillary carrier review.
The objective is to help the employer evaluate both the core health plan structure and the supporting benefits program around it.
Dental
Vision
Group Life
Short-Term Disability (STD)
Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Voluntary Benefits
Section 125 POP / Cafeteria Plan
Employees Contribution Strategy
Ancillary Carrier Review
Renewal Coordination
Health Plan
Enrollment Support
Request a Second Opinion Benefits Analysis
If your company already knows the current health plan is too expensive, the next step is not another routine renewal review. The next step is a structured second opinion.