At Merakey, every dollar saved can be used to meet the needs of the vulnerable individuals and families that the organization serves.

So, when we partnered with Merakey nearly 20 years ago, our top priority was to renegotiate and more efficiently consolidate its insurance policies, enhance coverage and streamline risk management efforts. In the first year alone, we achieved a cost savings of 30 percent – a seven-figure number – and improved the consistency and efficiency of Merakey’s insurance coverage.

And we didn’t stop there. Acting as Merakey’s outsourced risk management department, we continue to provide a range of services – from claims management and advocacy to quality and compliance support, safety trainings and access to proprietary data – designed to proactively manage risks.

Data-Driven Analysis
With approximately 10,000 employees and seven service lines, Merakey provides developmental, behavioral health and education services to more than 41,000 individuals in 11 states. To ensure safety and assess risks in real-time, the leadership team needed an easy way to immediately access all claims data and sort it by location, service lines, populations and exposures. We customized and deployed our proprietary GrahamAlytics™ business analytics system, allowing Merakey to review high-level trends or dive into specific data sets to identify risks and reduce exposure.

Practical Insight
With GrahamAlytics™ capabilities in place, we drilled into the data to develop a plan for reducing liability claims. With more than 50 years of experience, we know that an organization’s internal processes and commitment to safety often play a key role in defending or negotiating settlements for liability claims. So, we created a liability claim database, allowing us to immediately access and provide loss data for specific locations or entities when needed.

We also analyzed past claims data to identify specific, common tactics used by plaintiff attorneys in settlement negotiations, and developed a training with actionable strategies to deflect these tactics and minimize Merakey’s liability claims.

Working with its Corporate Safety Committee, we helped train employees on small, actionable changes that could be made to daily record-keeping, hiring practices and employee trainings. This demonstrates Merakey’s commitment to safety and reducing liability claims in the future.

As a result of our trainings, safety efforts and claims advocacy, we have been able to improve Merakey’s claims experience and make the organization more attractive to insurers.

When it’s time for renewal, we can offer Merakey more options for carriers and program structures – ensuring the organization can control its cost and select programs that best fit its needs.

Partners in Caring
At Graham Company, we are proud to serve as a true risk management partner for our clients. That means we’re committed to doing whatever it takes to drive down your total cost of risk, help you save money and keep your consumers and employees safe.

To transfer risk away from our clients, we built a library of insurance and indemnification requirements to streamline contracts for Merakey and our other health and human services clients. We also developed a database of employed and contracted physicians to improve credentialing and to identify insurance coverage of others for potential claims. In the case of Merakey, we even invited the head of a national insurance company and a partner of a major defense firm to tour Merakey facilities, going above and beyond to help them understand Merakey’s unique risks and build stronger cases to defend claims.

We were also privileged to offer our safety expertise to Merakey by leading the interview process for its new Safety Director. And today, we continue to work together to train employees to identify risk, provide best practices and ensure Merakey is current with the latest regulatory safety requirements. We know that when you need to discuss the risks associated with a new opportunity or business challenge, you want to talk to someone on your team – not simply call the insurance carrier. We work closely with clients to minimize their risk and maximize insurance coverage, so they can focus on growing their successful business. Our partnership with Merakey has allowed it to expand into new states with the confidence that its unique risks are managed and regulations are met.

Written in collaboration with: Michael J. Mitchell, CPA, CPCU, Vice Chairman; Martin J. Purcell, CPCU, Vice President; Bette M. McNee, RN, NHA, Clinical Risk Management Consultant; Paul J. Mora, ARM, AIC, Assistant Vice President – Claims Services; Joseph W. Dorr, CSP, CIH, CHSP, Assistant Vice President – Safety Services