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Strategic Benchmarking

Benefit Richness Scoring Engine

Quantify Plan Generosity Across Medical, Rx, and Ancillary—Know Your Competitive Position vs. Peer Deciles

The Cost vs. Value Confusion

Spend-Based Thinking

  • $15K PEPY could be stingy (high cost, low value) or generous (efficient delivery)
  • Cannot quantify competitive position vs. peer deciles
  • No visibility into which benefit categories drive perceived value
  • Overpaying for mediocre coverage or delivering premium efficiently?

Richness-Based Intelligence

  • Composite score (0-100) separates cost from actuarial value
  • Peer percentile ranking by industry/region/size cohort
  • Category-level visibility: medical, rx, dental, vision, mental health, etc.
  • Strategic insights: over-investment zones vs. competitive gaps

Composite Richness Algorithm

python
# Benefit Richness Scoring Engine def calculate_richness_score(plan_design, benchmark_cohort): component_scores = {} # Medical Plan Richness (40% weight) medical_factors = { 'deductible_individual': plan_design.deductible_individual, 'deductible_family': plan_design.deductible_family, 'oop_max_individual': plan_design.oop_max_individual, 'oop_max_family': plan_design.oop_max_family, 'coinsurance': plan_design.coinsurance, 'pcp_copay': plan_design.pcp_copay, 'specialist_copay': plan_design.specialist_copay, 'er_copay': plan_design.er_copay, 'network_breadth': plan_design.network_provider_count / benchmark_cohort.avg_network_size } # Score each factor (0-100, lower deductible/copay = higher score) medical_score = 0 for factor, value in medical_factors.items(): if factor in ['deductible_individual', 'deductible_family', 'oop_max_individual', 'oop_max_family']: # Inverse scoring: lower is better peer_median = benchmark_cohort.median(factor) score = max(0, min(100, 100 - ((value - peer_median) / peer_median * 50))) elif factor == 'network_breadth': # Direct scoring: higher is better score = min(100, value * 100) else: # copays peer_median = benchmark_cohort.median(factor) score = max(0, min(100, 100 - ((value - peer_median) / peer_median * 50))) medical_score += score / len(medical_factors) component_scores['medical'] = medical_score # Pharmacy Richness (30% weight) pharmacy_factors = { 'tier_count': 5 if plan_design.specialty_tier else 4, # More tiers = worse 'generic_copay': plan_design.tier1_copay, 'preferred_brand_copay': plan_design.tier2_copay, 'nonpreferred_brand_copay': plan_design.tier3_copay, 'specialty_copay': plan_design.tier4_copay if hasattr(plan_design, 'tier4_copay') else None, 'prior_auth_prevalence': plan_design.prior_auth_drug_count / plan_design.total_formulary_drugs } pharmacy_score = 0 scored_factors = 0 for factor, value in pharmacy_factors.items(): if value is None: continue peer_median = benchmark_cohort.median(factor) if factor in ['tier_count', 'prior_auth_prevalence']: # Inverse: fewer tiers/lower PA = better score = max(0, min(100, 100 - ((value - peer_median) / peer_median * 50))) else: # copays score = max(0, min(100, 100 - ((value - peer_median) / peer_median * 50))) pharmacy_score += score scored_factors += 1 component_scores['pharmacy'] = pharmacy_score / scored_factors # Ancillary Richness (30% weight) ancillary_factors = { 'dental_annual_max': plan_design.dental_annual_max, 'dental_preventive_coverage': 1.0 if plan_design.dental_preventive_pct == 100 else 0.5, 'vision_exam_frequency': 12 if plan_design.vision_exam_months == 12 else 24, 'mental_health_parity': 1.0 if plan_design.mental_health_parity else 0.0, 'fertility_max': plan_design.fertility_lifetime_max if hasattr(plan_design, 'fertility_lifetime_max') else 0, 'hsa_employer_contribution': plan_design.hsa_employer_annual if hasattr(plan_design, 'hsa_employer_annual') else 0 } ancillary_score = 0 for factor, value in ancillary_factors.items(): peer_median = benchmark_cohort.median(factor) if peer_median > 0: # Direct scoring: higher is better for ancillary score = min(100, (value / peer_median) * 100) else: score = 100 if value > 0 else 0 ancillary_score += score / len(ancillary_factors) component_scores['ancillary'] = ancillary_score # Composite Richness Score composite_score = ( component_scores['medical'] * 0.40 + component_scores['pharmacy'] * 0.30 + component_scores['ancillary'] * 0.30 ) # Peer Percentile peer_scores = [calculate_richness_score(peer, benchmark_cohort)['composite'] for peer in benchmark_cohort.peers] percentile = sum(1 for s in peer_scores if s < composite_score) / len(peer_scores) * 100 return { 'composite': composite_score, 'percentile': percentile, 'medical': component_scores['medical'], 'pharmacy': component_scores['pharmacy'], 'ancillary': component_scores['ancillary'], 'peer_cohort_size': len(benchmark_cohort.peers) } # Example: Score your plan your_plan = load_plan_design('2024') peer_group = load_benchmark_cohort(industry='technology', region='west', size='5000-10000') result = calculate_richness_score(your_plan, peer_group) print("Benefit Richness Score: {:.0f}/100".format(result['composite'])) print("Peer Percentile: {:.0f}th".format(result['percentile'])) print("Medical: {:.0f}/100".format(result['medical'])) print("Pharmacy: {:.0f}/100".format(result['pharmacy'])) print("Ancillary: {:.0f}/100".format(result['ancillary']))

Richness Intelligence

Composite Score
0-100
weighted: 40% medical, 30% rx, 30% ancillary
Peer Percentile
Industry Rank
vs. size/region/sector cohort
Category Breakdown
10+ Factors
deductibles, copays, network, formulary, etc.
Strategic Insights
Over/Under
investment zones vs. competitive gaps

Strategic Applications

Talent Acquisition ROI

  • Tech unicorn (2,800 employees): recruiting struggled vs. FAANG
  • Richness analysis revealed: 95th percentile specialist copays (unused by 22-34 workforce)
  • But: 40th percentile mental health coverage (high-demand segment)
  • Strategic reallocation:
  • - Specialist copay: 95th → 65th percentile (saved $1.6M)
  • - Mental health: 40th → 90th percentile (invested $1.2M)
  • Net employer savings: $400K annually
  • Employee satisfaction: +18 points
  • Offer acceptance rate: +14% (from 72% to 86%)
  • Time-to-fill: -23% reduction

Union Negotiation Defense

  • Manufacturing (12,000 employees): union demanded 'poverty benefits' narrative
  • Richness scoring showed: 82nd percentile overall vs. regional competitors
  • Category breakdown:
  • - Medical: 78th percentile
  • - Pharmacy: 85th percentile
  • - Dental: 80th percentile
  • Third-party actuarial validation confirmed scoring
  • Union outcome: accepted 2.5% wage increase vs. demanded 4.5%
  • Company avoided: $8M in benefit concessions
  • Labor relations: preserved 3-year peace, avoided strike

Know Your True Competitive Position

Score your plan richness. Benchmark vs. peer deciles. Identify over-investment and competitive gaps. Make data-driven benefit decisions.

Score Benefit Richness