The Partner Pitch: How to Sell Wellness to Your Self-Funded Clients

Nearly 70% of workers with employer-sponsored coverage now participate in self-funded plans—and that changes everything about how you pitch wellness. Unlike fully insured models, in which carriers retain the savings, self-funded employers keep every dollar they don't spend on claims. When their workforce gets healthier, they see it directly in their bottom line.

For brokers, consultants, and TPAs, that's not just a talking point. It's the foundation of a fundamentally different conversation.

Self-funded employers carry the financial risk for their population's health. Every preventable ER visit, every unmanaged diabetic, every employee who skips their annual physical—it all shows up in the claims data.

When you're pitching wellness, you're not selling yoga classes. You're selling a proactive approach to the problems already eating into their bottom line.

Lead with their pain points: rising stop-loss premiums, high-cost claimants, absenteeism, turnover. Then connect the dots. Participants in wellness programs spend 30% less in overall per-employee healthcare costs annually. The benefits extend beyond claims too—fewer sick days, lower disability claims, and potential premium savings at renewal.

The most effective approach? Identify the specific cost drivers plaguing that employer's population, whether it's diabetes, hypertension, or stress-related claims. Then align your solution with those pain points.

HR might get excited about engagement features and employee satisfaction. Finance wants to know the investment is worthwhile. You'll need to speak to both, often in the same meeting.

Here's the reality: quantifying exact savings from wellness is notoriously difficult. There are too many variables—claims fluctuate year to year, conditions develop over decades, and attribution is murky at best. But the cost of inaction? That's easier to see. Unmanaged chronic conditions escalate. Disengaged employees burn out and leave. Small health issues become big ones.

The strongest pitch doesn't overpromise on ROI. It reframes wellness as risk mitigation and workforce investment. While 31% of employers focus primarily on controlling health-related costs, 69% provide wellness programs to improve overall worker health and wellbeing. Finance may sign the check, but the real value often shows up in retention, productivity, and culture—metrics that matter to leadership even when they're hard to tie to a dollar figure.

One self-funded group saw healthcare cost increases stay below market rate for multiple consecutive years after implementing a comprehensive wellness program. They also reported improved physical health through more routine doctor visits and stronger cross-department engagement as employees connected through wellness goals. That's the kind of full-picture story that resonates across the table.

Every broker, consultant, and TPA has heard the objections. "We tried a wellness program and nobody used it." "Our employees don't want another app." "We can't afford to add anything right now."

These concerns are valid. Dismissing them won't get you anywhere.

Instead, dig into why previous programs failed. Was it poor communication? A one-size-fits-all approach? Lack of leadership buy-in? Understanding what went wrong helps you position a better solution—and demonstrates you've done your homework.

For budget concerns, reframe the conversation. The question isn't whether they can afford wellness. It's whether they can afford to keep paying for preventable chronic disease. A modest investment in upstream intervention looks a lot more reasonable stacked against the downstream cost of inaction.

Self-funded employers have plan design freedom that fully insured groups don't. Your wellness pitch should reflect that.

A 25-year-old software developer has different needs than a 55-year-old manufacturing worker. Younger employees often prefer digital mental health resources and fitness apps. Older groups tend to gravitate toward preventive screenings and chronic disease management. The most successful programs offer both, then let usage data guide optimization.

Geography matters too. Employers with distributed workforces need programs that work equally well for remote employees in rural areas and office workers in major metros. Flexibility in delivery—including features like text-based tracking—often determines which vendors win these contracts.

Integration is equally important. Self-funded employers typically work with a TPA, a carrier, and multiple point solutions. When your wellness program connects with their existing tech stack without creating extra administrative burden, you eliminate friction and boost engagement across the board.

💡Pro tip for TPAs: Wellness can be a meaningful differentiator for your business. When you bring a vetted wellness partner to your clients, you're not just adding another vendor—you're strengthening relationships and expanding your value proposition. Look for partners that offer seamless integration with your workflows, clean reporting, and dedicated support that makes you look good. The right wellness program helps you retain clients and win new ones.

The best brokers, consultants, and TPAs aren't just selling products or processing claims. They're helping employers think through their entire benefits strategy, connecting disparate pieces into a coherent whole.

Wellness fits into that picture alongside medical, pharmacy, EAP, and other benefits—not as an add-on, but as an integrated component of population health management.

When you bring wellness to the table, you're demonstrating that you understand the full scope of your client's challenges. You're not just renewing their medical plan or administering their benefits each year; you're actively helping them build a healthier, more resilient workforce.

That's the kind of value that deepens relationships and earns long-term loyalty.

Self-funded employers need partners who can help them get ahead of rising costs—not just react to them. With the right approach, wellness becomes a compelling piece of that conversation. The opportunity is there. The question is whether you're ready to make the case. WellRight is here to help.