Flourishing Prospers
Northwind is mission-aligned with advisors to design health offerings that drive down claims cost and produce health. And we can prove it.
"The benefits world has weak track record at accurately measuring cost savings and outcome improvements."
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One Platform, Three Solutions
Most plan sponsors of self-funded plans buy their health plan from disconnected vendors — a TPA, a PBM, a chronic disease management vendor, plus point solutions for each new cost driver. Each adds a layer of cost, each creates a data silo, and none of them communicate. Northwind delivers all three functions under one roof:
Third-Party Administration
Eligibility, enrollment, claims processing, and adjudication. Broad national networks, Northwind High-Performance Narrow Care Networks, direct provider contracts, and worksite clinic integration.
Pharmacy Benefit Management
Cost-plus pricing since 2008. Pass-through rebates with NDC-level audit reporting. A national network of more than 67,000 pharmacies. Average first-year client savings of 11.5%. 100% client retention. 86% generic dispensing rate.
Clinical Blueprints
Northwind utilizes high-touch clinical blueprints across conditions with special expertise in chronic disease management. Typically, a high-cost, high-risk member is paired with a Northwind pharmacist and a board-certified health coach. The team coordinates directly with providers to optimize medication therapy, address behavioral barriers, and stabilize the catastrophic claims that drive trend.
Why Advisors Recommend Northwind
You stay in the relationship.
Northwind is at the table with you to understand the root cause of your clients’ fiscal and health challenges. You aren’t replaced by Northwind, you’re equipped by it. Access to all data and outcomes in real time. True collaboration to drive results.
Defensible economics at renewal.
Cost-plus pharmacy pricing since 2008. Pass-through rebates with NDC-level audit reporting. PEPM and PMPM fees that don't move with rebate capture or spread arbitrage. When your client asks why their PBM line item changed, you have a straight answer.
Real claims data, not summarized reports.
Northwind's proprietary digital dashboard gives plan sponsors and their advisors real-time visibility into plan spend, drug utilization, program engagement, and clinical outcomes. Monthly, quarterly, and annual scorecards track benchmark KPIs. You can walk into any client meeting with current numbers, not last quarter's PDF.
A real answer on GLP-1s.
Every advisor is fielding the same question right now: what do we do about GLP-1 spend? Northwind's proprietary GLP-1 management model applies clinical eligibility criteria, pharmacist consultation, and integrated health coaching to ensure appropriate use of these medications while controlling their financial impact on the plan. You can bring your client a clinical framework, not just a coverage decision.
One vendor instead of seven.
Northwind delivers TPA, PBM, pharmacy, and chronic disease management as an integrated solution. No vendor finger-pointing. No data reconciliation across point solutions. No sixth point solution your client asks you to evaluate next quarter.
A clinician-led story your client wants to hear.
More than half of Northwind's employees are clinicians — pharmacists, registered nurses, registered dieticians, and board-certified health coaches. Care decisions are made by people qualified to make them, and plan sponsors hear about it from members who feel cared for, not processed.
Start a Conversation
If you have a client wrestling with trend, GLP-1 spend, opaque PBM economics, or point-solution fatigue, Northwind can help you build the case.
Contact us to schedule a partner conversation or request a confidential plan analysis on behalf of your client.
Which of Your Clients fit Northwind
Northwind is built for self-funded and Taft-Hartley groups sized 50-20,000 lives.
Northwind specializes in plans for labor, finance, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, education, healthcare and technology. We find all employers are wrestling with the same challenges – trying to get ahold of their healthcare spend while trying to make a difference.
The strongest fits include:
- Self-funded employers stuck at 12 to 18% annual trend
- Plan sponsors frustrated with national carrier ASO arrangements and bundled PBM economics
- Plan sponsors carrying disproportionate cost from a small high-cost, high-risk member population
- Multi-state plan sponsors needing consistent administration across geographies
- Plan sponsors actively wrestling with GLP-1 plan design decisions
- Multi-employer plans, Taft-Hartley funds, and trusts
How Northwind Supports Advisors
Most plan sponsors of self-funded plans buy their health plan from disconnected vendors — a TPA, a PBM, a pharmacy, a chronic disease management vendor, plus point solutions for each new cost driver. Each adds a layer of cost, each creates a data silo, and none of them communicate. Northwind delivers all four functions under one roof:
Through the sales process.
Northwind partners with you on prospect meetings, plan analysis, and proposal development. An analysis is customized to the client and sets the stage for a 1, 3, and 5 year strategy.
Through implementation.
Northwind’s onboarding process includes extensive pre-work to understand each plan sponsor’s organizational history and culture, followed by scheduled post-go-live updates. Your client doesn’t feel handed off — and neither do you.
Through the relationship.
Plan sponsors have administrative and clinical teams dedicated to them. Senior leadership leads account management. Advisors have direct access to the account leadership and support team. Yes, even holidays and weekends.
At renewal.
Real-time data access means you walk into renewal conversations with current numbers and a clear narrative on what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next. Northwind’s monthly and quarterly scorecards are built to support the conversation an advisor needs to have with their client.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I win with Northwind?
Northwind prefers to work with select Advisors to develop a long-term partnership to help you win and retain business for years to come. Creating a custom solution in your market gives you time and space to run with Northwind exclusively as a market innovator. Connect with us to learn more.
What is the minimum number a client needs to have to work with Northwind?
Northwind’s ideal plan sponsors have between 50-20,000 lives and include self-funded employers, Taft-Hartley funds, commercial multi-employer plans, and trusts. Inquire with us directly for level-funded plan administration options.
What's the typical first-year impact for a plan sponsor moving to Northwind?
Northwind targets 6% year-over-year increases in healthcare spending versus the 18% industry average, and targets eliminating 8 to 12% of combined pharmacy and medical spend through waste, fraud, and abuse reduction within 18 months. PBM first-year savings average 11.5%.
What size client should I bring to Northwind?
Northwind’s ideal Sponsors have between 1,000 and 20,000 covered members, including self-funded employers, Taft-Hartley funds, commercial multi-employer plans, and trusts.
Can clients engage individual Northwind divisions rather than the full solution?
Yes. Northwind’s TPA, PBM, Pharmacy Logistics, or Clinical Blueprints can be used as standalone services. The full integrated solution typically produces the strongest financial and clinical outcomes, but advisors and plan sponsors choose the model that fits their strategy.
How does Northwind price its services?
Northwind prices on PEPM or PMPM models. Pharmacy is priced on a cost-plus basis with pass-through rebates and NDC-level audit reporting. Analysis, audit, and strategy services are priced on deliverables. Pricing is transparent and auditable at every layer.
How does Northwind handle GLP-1 drug costs?
Northwind’s proprietary GLP-1 management model applies clinical eligibility criteria, pharmacist consultation, and integrated health coaching to ensure appropriate use of these medications while mitigating their financial impact on the plan.
What states do Northwind serve?
Northwind is licensed in all 50 states, with facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Oregon. Current growth markets include Indiana, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida.
Does Northwind work with existing onsite clinic, wellness, or health system partners?
Yes. Northwind collaborates with onsite clinics, wellness companies, health systems, pharmacy support services, TPAs, and PBMs to execute the Sponsor’s benefit plan choices with minimal disruption to Sponsors or members.
What data does Northwind need to evaluate a prospect?
A complete analysis requires full pharmacy and medical claims files and a census file. Northwind will return a targeted plan analysis with specific savings opportunities and implementation considerations. However, if you are prospecting, much can be done with plan summaries and year-end data. Connect with Northwind to discuss a customized approach.
