Private Seattle School Fights Back Against +37% Blue Cross Renewal Using The Difference Card

October 15, 2025

Brian Kruse

Senior Consultant

Brian is a Senior Sales Consultant. He is representing the Oregon/Washington market with The Difference Card. Prior to The Difference Card, Brian has worked in health insurance for 15 years. He has spent much of his career specializing in medical cost containment solutions and stop loss insurance. A passion of his is to help drive down the cost of health insurance for employers and their employees.

A private K–12 school in Seattle, Washington, was faced with a major health insurance challenge when Premera Blue Cross delivered a +37% renewal increase for their October plan year.

With over 150 teachers and educational staff, the school’s annual health benefits budget was already nearing $1.5 million. The proposed increase would have driven total costs to over $2 million — an unsustainable jump that threatened their ability to maintain high-quality benefits for their valued educators.

Partnering with USI to Find a Creative Solution

Determined to protect both their budget and their staff, the school’s leadership turned to their trusted consultants at USI Insurance Services for guidance.

The USI team explored several options — including alternative carrier quotes, plan design changes, and employee contribution adjustments. However, the administration was clear: they wanted to keep the same provider network and avoid increasing costs for employees.

Recognizing these priorities, the USI consultants knew The Difference Card strategy would be the perfect fit.

Designing a Smarter Plan with The Difference Card

Working closely with Brian Kruse, Senior Consultant for The Difference Card’s Pacific Northwest team, USI designed a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP) tailored for the school’s needs.

The school offered staff three medical plan options:

Two Traditional PPO copay Plans
One High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) paired with an HSA

By restructuring plan designs to include higher deductibles and copays, the USI team and Premera BCBS were able to reduce fixed insurance premiums by 21% compared to the proposed renewal.

Then, The Difference Card underwriting team modeled a custom funding structure to restore benefits — ensuring employees experienced the same or better coverage than before.

The Final Result

✅ Guaranteed savings of over $160,000 for the school — all while maintaining excellent benefits for teachers and staff.

Level Funding Made Easy with The Difference Guarantee

Because this school needed predictable monthly expenses to align with their academic budget, they utilized The Difference Guarantee program, featuring the Monthly Budget option.

This solution provided two major advantages:

A performance cap on annual reimbursements, offering peace of mind and financial protection
A level-funded monthly reimbursement schedule, allowing for smooth, predictable cash flow throughout the year

Empowering Schools to Invest in What Matters Most

At The Difference Card, we’re proud to help schools and educational organizations design more cost-effective, sustainable health plans that protect both their people and their budgets.

By partnering with us, educational institutions across the country are learning how to control healthcare costs while enhancing employee benefits — so they can focus on what truly matters: educating the next generation.