How smarter plan design, telemedicine, employee engagement, and disciplined vendor management helped a Pennsylvania school district reduce costs while changing how employees access care.
Rising healthcare costs create a difficult balancing act for school districts. Managing expenses can’t come at the expense of employees, or the resources needed to support students.
For one Pennsylvania school district with approximately 1,000 employees, BSI took a different approach: build a benefits strategy that encouraged better healthcare decisions while creating sustainable savings.
Rather than relying on one cost-containment tactic, BSI layered strategies over time, addressing plan design, utilization, vendor management, and employee engagement.
The result: more than $16 million in projected five-year savings.
Start With Smarter Plan Design
BSI introduced an HSA-centered plan design designed to give employees greater ownership of their healthcare spending while encouraging more informed, cost-conscious decisions.
The impact was immediate: more than $1 million in first-year savings, with HSA enrollment exceeding 80%.
But changing the plan was only the beginning. The next opportunity was changing how employees accessed care.
Make the Right Care Easier to Access
Before telemedicine was introduced, the district averaged 278 ER visits per 1,000 members, well above the industry benchmark of 247.
In 2017, BSI implemented a telemedicine solution through Teladoc Health/HealthiestYou, giving employees a convenient alternative for appropriate, lower-acuity care.
The strategy went beyond simply offering the benefit. BSI drove adoption through district-wide education across 11 schools, incentive-based registration campaigns, and ongoing seasonal communications.
The goal: make telemedicine a first point of care, not just another benefit.
The results were significant. Within the first year, ER utilization dropped from 278 to 161 visits per 1,000 members, a reduction of more than 40%. Utilization remained well below industry benchmarks in the years that followed, with ER visits averaging 46% below the industry norm.
Urgent care utilization also declined, reflecting a broader shift toward more convenient and cost-effective care.
That change in utilization translated into $2.19 million in cumulative telemedicine savings.
Layering Strategies for Greater Impact
Telemedicine was one piece of a broader strategy. BSI continued to evaluate the plan for opportunities to improve financial performance without simply shifting costs to employees. Additional strategies included:
- $90K in stop-loss savings through negotiation
- 30% reduction in ancillary benefit costs
- A spousal surcharge strategy to better manage plan costs
- Ongoing vendor and plan analysis to identify additional opportunities
Each initiative addressed a different cost driver. Together, they created a more disciplined and sustainable approach to benefits management.
The Results Go Beyond the Numbers
The results are compelling:
- $16M+ in projected five-year savings
- $1M+ in first-year HSA savings
- 80%+ HSA enrollment
- $2.19M in cumulative telemedicine savings
- 40%+ reduction in ER utilization following telemedicine implementation
- 46% below industry norms for ER utilization
- 30% reduction in ancillary benefit costs
- $90K in stop-loss savings
But the biggest takeaway isn’t any single number.
The district didn’t simply reduce costs. It changed how employees engaged with healthcare.
The HSA strategy encouraged greater ownership. Telemedicine made appropriate care easier to access. Education turned a benefit into a behavior. Vendor negotiations and ongoing analysis uncovered additional savings.
A Better Way to Think About Healthcare Costs
West Shore’s experience demonstrates that sustainable healthcare savings don’t have to come from asking employees to pay more.
They can come from better plan design, better access, better engagement, and better decisions.
When those strategies work together, the result is more than cost containment. It’s a benefits strategy that helps employees make informed healthcare decisions while making every healthcare dollar work harder.
That’s the difference between managing a benefits plan and strategically managing the cost of healthcare.
Client name and identifying details have been kept confidential. Results represent actual plan performance and are current as of Q1 2026.