If your credit union is interested in new health plan options, consider self-funding. It may not be as widely discussed as fully-insured plans, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t popular with employers. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, self-insured plans cover 55 percent of workers who have health insurance.

In a traditional plan, the employer pays a fixed premium to the insurance carrier, which then bears the financial risk of paying claims. Self-funded plans shift that risk to the employer in exchange for more customized plan design, tighter control over costs and elimination of the need…