Title: Benefits Vendor Management and SLAs
Source: https://ethosbenefits.com/services/vendor-management
Publisher: Ethos Benefits
Summary: Ethos Benefits holds your health plan vendors to their contracts with service level agreements, performance guarantees, KPI scorecards and quarterly reviews.

1.  [Home](https://ethosbenefits.com/)
2.  [Services](https://ethosbenefits.com/services)
3.  Vendor management.

# Vendor management. Service levels, guarantees and scorecards.

Your plan's vendors make promises in their contracts, and those promises only matter if someone measures them. Ethos Benefits writes service level agreements and performance guarantees into your contracts, scores every vendor against them, reviews one vendor in depth with your committee each quarter, and documents what happens when a vendor falls short.

[Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis)

## What you get.

Most plans have no scorecard for their vendors, so performance is judged by complaints. A guarantee that is never measured is never paid.

1.  **Service level agreements** Response times, accuracy, reporting and data delivery written into each contract as measurable standards.
2.  **Performance guarantees** Money at risk when a standard is missed, with the reconciliation done every year rather than left to the vendor.
3.  **KPI scorecards** A scorecard for each vendor, reported to your committee every quarter.
4.  **Quarterly in-depth reviews** One vendor reviewed in depth at each committee meeting, on rotation, so every vendor gets a full review in turn.
5.  **Escalation and remediation** Problems escalated through the contract, with the response and the outcome recorded.
6.  **Vendor and contract inventory** Every vendor, contract, renewal date and notice window in one list, so no deadline passes by default.

## What we _measure._

| Vendor | Examples of what is measured |
| --- | --- |
| **PBM** | Pricing guarantees, rebates passed through, generic dispensing rate, data delivery |
| **Administrator** | Claims accuracy, turnaround time, call answer time, eligibility processing |
| **Stop-loss** | Reimbursement turnaround and accuracy |
| **Navigation and advocacy** | Response time, resolution rate, employee satisfaction |
| **Specialty programs and direct contracts** | Participation, outcomes reported, and the savings claimed against the data |

## When a vendor _falls short._

The contract decides what your plan can do. That is why service levels and guarantees are negotiated during [procurement](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/procurement), not after a problem appears. When a standard is missed, Ethos documents it, collects what the contract provides, and brings the options to your committee.

## Part of your Fiduciary Framework™.

Every Ethos service reports to your benefits committee. The work is reviewed at your quarterly committee meeting, each decision is recorded with the reasoning behind it, and the record lives in your Ethos Fiduciary OS. That is what lets your committee show the plan was run prudently.

[See the Fiduciary Framework™](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-framework) · [How fiduciary governance works](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-governance)

## Related reading.

-   [**Employee benefits management** Benefits 101: What employee benefits management covers, how it differs from strategy and administration, and a month-by-month calendar for overseeing your plan.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/employee-benefits-management)
-   [**How to choose a PBM** Benefits 101: How employers choose a good pharmacy benefit manager: the PBM contract terms to check, questions to ask, red flags, and the steps of a PBM RFP.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/how-to-choose-a-pbm)
-   [**Third party administrator** Benefits 101: What a third party administrator does for a self-funded health plan, ASO vs independent TPAs, what to check in a TPA contract, and how a TPA differs from a PBA.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/third-party-administrator)

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## Questions employers ask about this.

What is the difference between a service level agreement and a performance guarantee?

A service level agreement sets the standard the vendor must meet. A performance guarantee puts money behind it: the fee credit or payment the plan receives when the standard is missed.

Which vendors get a scorecard?

Every vendor that serves the plan, including the PBM, the administrator, stop-loss, navigation and advocacy, and specialty health programs.

What happens when a vendor misses its guarantees?

The shortfall is documented, the guarantee is collected, and the committee decides whether to remediate, renegotiate or remarket. The decision and its reasoning go into the record.

## Keep reading Related to this page.

-   [**Procurement and contracts** Ethos Fiduciary Procurement is how Ethos Benefits runs RFPs for PBMs, TPAs, stop-loss and other plan vendors, scores every bid and negotiates the contract. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/procurement)
-   [**TPA and administrative contracts** Ethos Benefits runs TPA and ASO procurement for self-funded health plans and redlines the administrative services agreement before your company signs it. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/tpa-procurement)
-   [**Claims, billing and eligibility audits** Ethos Benefits audits your health plan invoices and eligibility, coordinates claims audits with your vendors, and tracks every recovery to completion. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/audits)
-   [**Pharmacy and PBM** Ethos Benefits reviews your PBM contract and pharmacy spend, finds where spread pricing and rebates go, and helps your committee decide what to change. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/pharmacy-pbm)
-   [**Stop-loss procurement** Ethos Benefits markets, places and renews stop-loss coverage for self-funded health plans, and audits the contract so the policy pays when it should. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/stop-loss)
-   [**Life, disability and absence** Ethos Benefits markets and manages life, AD&D, disability, leave and absence administration, dental, vision and voluntary benefits alongside your health plan. _Read more_](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/ancillary-benefits)

## See what your plan is really costing you.

A Strategic Analysis starts with your plan documents and your broker agreement, then shows you what your plan costs, where the risk sits, and what a committee would decide with the full picture.

[Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) [Call (407) 803-4710](tel:+14078034710)