Strategic Planning & Cost Containment Our new client transition plan and client onboarding process begins upon receipt of the signed broker-of- record (BOR) letters for the clients existing lines of coverage. During this time, we develop our customized new client checklist inside of our CRM system, so that we can assign and track the onboarding process through completion. When processing the BOR with the current insurance carriers we request all contracts, benefit summaries, current invoices, membership reports and key contacts for review and upload to our CRM, so that we can immediately begin servicing the clients account, their members and reviewing the benefits services for technical accuracy. Our next step would be an introductory meeting or call between the key stakeholders at Iroquois and the consulting/service team at Meridian to answer any questions and build out action items that are of importance. The action items include executing business associate agreements, setting up carrier/vendor web access, setting up Meridian services (ThinkHR etc.), reviewing summary plan descriptions and discussing any areas of concern we have identified within the in-force plans. If any areas of concern exist, we will work with the carrier/vendor and Iroquois to resolve the issue(s) in a quick and efficient manner while assisting in writing any plan modification documents that may be required. As the Iroquois renewal is 1/1, we would typically schedule a pre-renewal meeting at the beginning of September, so we can gain an understanding of the organization’s goals, as well as, establish a renewal timeline. During the pre-renewal meeting we would discuss the RFP process, plan designs under consideration, any new programs Iroquois may like to implement, open enrollment communication strategy with target dates and whether you are/will be using a benefits administration platform to assist with open enrollment. Based on feedback from the pre-renewal meeting we will set-up a renewal strategy and timeline for vendor analysis, plan decision making and implementation that will be tracked through completion in our CRM. For clarity, please keep in mind that extremely limited claims data is available for fully insured groups with 51-99 employees written out of the state of Connecticut and New York. If claims data were to ever be made available, prior to formulating our RFP for the carriers, Meridian would run the Iroquois medical program through our actuarial software. The actuarial software will make sure your current/renewal rates are in line with the data shown in our actuarial system, as well as to see whether self-funding is feasible. If our actuarial data differs from the carrier provided renewal data, we use that as a key negotiating tactic. Generally, our actuarial analysis can be completed within 24-48 hours, so we are capable of a very quick turnaround. Our actuarial software database is made up of over 100 billion dollars’ worth of claims data, so is a larger data set than many insurance companies. The software has three (3) primary features; Actuarial Assistant, Risk Decision and Experience Migration. The Actuarial Assistant module allows Meridian to compare, evaluate, analyze and customize plan options. When using the Actuarial Assistant, we could show Iroquois how a change in plan design, provider networks, demographics and/or risk levels impacts overall cost. We also utilize the Actuarial Assistant to predict a client’s renewal cost, leverage the data to negotiate with the carrier and set appropriate claims reserves, if they are self-funded. 23