ABSTRACT
The firm is well advised to pick its helpers carefully. As with any purchase that is managed by a procurement strategy, these relationships should be occasionally tested for fit and for price. Strangely, most firms settle into a zone of comfort, and there is seldom any evidence that they re-price or rethink services on any kind of routine basis. Healthcare is a special situation, and middlemen come in various forms. The danger in an on-site care process is in creating an additional level of management at the firm site (which adds overhead). This may include a vendor that becomes a broker of services and conduit for healthcare dollars. The goal is to see where there is an ability to apply the health benefit dollars directly to the need and the purchase of the services without having additional fees tacked on as purchases are consolidated, managed, billed, reported, and otherwise re-sold from level to level.
