Benefits Administration

A health plan that stops working against you

The HERO Health Plan unbundles the traditional PPO, contracts directly with selected providers, and puts zero out-of-pocket options in front of your employees. Catapult helps you work out whether it fits.

Talk to a Benefits AdvisorSee how it compares
Leadership team reviewing employee healthcare options in a meeting
Small and mid-sized employers have the least leverage with a traditional carrier, and feel every renewal increase first.

The status quo

The traditional plan is getting harder to defend

For small and mid-sized employers the yearly cycle has stopped being sustainable. Here is what it actually costs you.

Renewals only move one way

Every year the premium comes in higher and the deductible moves up, and the plan design you can actually afford gets thinner.

Employees feel it first

Benefits are one of the first things people compare against a competitor’s offer, and a high deductible is what they remember.

You carry the cost either way

Money that goes to a carrier is money that does not go to wages or back into the business.

How it works

How HERO delivers care

Rather than routing everything through a single carrier network, HERO partners directly with providers across six areas.

Primary care

Direct relationships with primary care practices, so routine care is easy to reach and priced up front instead of buried in a claim.

Surgical centers of excellence

Employees are steered toward surgical centers selected on quality and price rather than whichever facility happens to be in network.

Specialty clinics

Direct contracts with specialty clinics and digital health providers for care that sits outside the primary care relationship.

Pharmacy programs

The plan receives pharmacy rebates rather than the carrier keeping them, and pays lower negotiated prices on drugs.

Medical billing audits

Claims are reviewed for billing errors and overcharges before the plan pays them, instead of after the money is gone.

Care navigation

Employees can reach a care navigator directly, so they are not left to work out where to go and what it will cost on their own.

Primary care physicians, specialists and nurses

The network

Direct contracts with primary care practices, surgical centers of excellence and specialty clinics.

Side by side

How it compares to a status quo PPO

The differences are structural. They come from how the plan is built, not from trimming coverage.

Comparison of a status quo PPO and the HERO PPO
 Status quo PPOHERO PPO
Plan designThe carrier sets the limits on what you can design.You can keep your existing plan and make targeted improvements to it.
Employee costEmployees carry significant out-of-pocket expense.Many care options are available at zero out of pocket.
Provider choiceCarrier contracts limit choice and raise prices.Direct contracts with selected doctors and surgical centers.
Pharmacy rebatesThe carrier keeps rebates as a revenue stream.The plan receives the rebates and pays lower drug prices.

The employee side

What changes for your employees

A plan only works if people use it well. HERO builds the employee experience around four things.

Information

  • Virtual insurance card
  • Searchable plan document
  • Portable medical records
  • HSA and FSA account data

Education

  • Health education app
  • Prescription education
  • Healthy lifestyle guidance

Motivation

  • Personalized exercise plans
  • Personalized nutrition
  • Fitness tracker integration
  • Customized rewards

Navigation

  • Tap to talk with primary care
  • Tap to talk with a care navigator
  • Send records to a new doctor
  • Location based navigation to care

Why Catapult

We sit on your side of the table

Catapult is not an insurance carrier and does not sell you a plan for its own sake. What our benefits team does is look at what you spend today, walk through what an unbundled plan would actually change, and tell you plainly when it is not the right move.

If HERO does turn out to be a fit, the administration does not become your problem. Catapult already handles COBRA administration, FSA, HSA and HRA spending accounts, ICHRA administration, and carrier EDI transmission, so the plan and the paperwork stay under one roof.

See the full range of employee benefits administration services.

A Catapult benefits advisor reviewing plan options with a client

Questions

Common questions

Is HERO a Catapult plan?
No. HERO Health Plans is a separate company with its own plan design and provider contracts. Catapult helps members evaluate it, and handles benefits administration if you move forward.
Do we have to replace our current plan?
Not necessarily. One of HERO’s stated advantages is that an existing plan can often be kept and improved rather than torn out and replaced. What makes sense depends on how you fund your plan today, which is the first thing a benefits advisor will look at.
What size employer is this built for?
The approach is aimed at small and mid-sized employers who are feeling renewal increases hardest and have the least leverage with a traditional carrier.
How do we find out whether it fits?
Start with a conversation. Request a benefits consultation and tell us how you fund your plan today and roughly what you spend. That is enough for a first read on whether this is worth pursuing.

Next step

Find out if an unbundled plan makes sense for you

A short conversation with a Catapult benefits advisor will tell you whether the HERO Health Plan is worth a closer look, or whether your current plan is already the better deal.

Talk to a Benefits AdvisorExplore Benefits Services

HERO Health Plans is an independent company. Plan availability, provider networks and specific benefit levels are determined by HERO and vary by employer. Nothing on this page is an offer of insurance or a guarantee of coverage or savings.