The next “401(k) fee crisis” will not be about retirement plans. It is happening in healthcare. Courts are applying the fiduciary standards from 401(k) fee litigation to self-funded health plans, where hidden costs are buried in ASO, PBM, and Stop-Loss contracts. Learn where these fees hide and how to protect your plan.

Courts have made it clear that fiduciaries cannot outsource their responsibility. If your TPA mismanages claims, hides fees, or engages in conflicted practices, liability ultimately rests with you. That's why sponsors must hold TPAs accountable and document oversight.

For many plan sponsors, the word “audit” suggests penalties or after-the-fact corrections. In reality, independent claims reviews are about prevention, transparency, and protecting plan assets. Not punishment.

Benefits committees are becoming essential to ERISA compliance for self-funded health plans. Learn why structured oversight of vendors, fees, claims accuracy, and data transparency is a fiduciary imperative, and how benefits committees strengthen governance, reduce risk, and protect plan participants.

When claim administrators audit their own networks, conflicts arise. Independent payment integrity ensures ERISA and CAA compliance, protecting plan sponsors, members, and fiduciary accountability.

As renewal season unfolds, fiduciaries face a critical opportunity to align contracts with their ERISA duty: act solely in the interest of participants and prudently manage plan assets

Fiduciaries need the people, process, and technology to ensure plan oversight. After nearly a decade of litigation, Aetna Life Insurance Company and OptumHealth Care Solutions have agreed to pay $8.4 million to settle allegations that they concealed administrative fees inside claims using so-called “dummy codes.” 🚩 Allegations Plaintiff Sandra Peters argued that Aetna and Optum: Directed providers to submit claims with “Administrative Add-On Services.” Masked Optum’s adminis