True TPA cost savings extend beyond network discounts and should include claims editing, direct negotiation, and medical management strategies like length-of-stay optimization and gap-in-care analysis. 

Knowing your current plan design can be duplicated is important. When making a transition, minimizing member disruption is vital. Your TPA should have the ability to provide the most appropriate benefit recommendations based on your unique population.

While hold time, talk time, and average speed of answer stats are important, great results shouldn’t come at the expense of the member experience. A service-centric TPA should be able to strike a balance between the quality of the call and service being provided to the member.

TPAs that emphasize transparency, ethical business practices, and clear financial disclosures help clients make informed decisions. They are committed to responsibly managing a plan sponsor's health plan resources. 

Modern health plans rely on multiple vendors and point solutions to support member health, manage costs, and improve engagement. A flexible TPA should have a solid integration strategy that helps broker partners and employers align these solutions into one connected ecosystem.