Scaling Direct-to-Employer Strategies: How Tendo Care Connect Helps Health Systems Build Sustainable Growth

Healthcare is undergoing a significant shift. Employers—especially those with self-funded plans—are demanding more transparency, predictability, and control over their healthcare spend. Traditional models leave them grappling with inconsistent claims costs, surprise bills, and escalating premiums.

This is where direct-to-employer (D2E) contracting comes in. By partnering directly with health systems, employers gain clearer pricing and employees gain easier access to high-quality care. But scaling a D2E strategy is not simple. That’s why Tendo Care Connect was designed to serve as the infrastructure that helps providers grow these programs sustainably.

The Direct-to-Employer Opportunity

Today, roughly 63% of U.S. workers are covered by self-funded employer plans (Kaiser Family Foundation). These employers are actively searching for ways to contain costs while still delivering quality benefits to their workforce.

The pain points are familiar:

• Surprise bills from ancillary providers.
• High stop-loss premiums and deductibles.
• Opaque claim costs that make forecasting nearly impossible.

Direct contracting provides a solution. For health systems, it represents a path to diversify payer mix, strengthen employer relationships, and capture margin that is often lost in traditional network models.

What Makes Scaling Hard

Even with demand growing, many health systems struggle to expand D2E efforts because:

• Bundling services across multiple providers and departments is operationally complex.
• Contracting and billing processes can be time-intensive and burdensome.
• Integration with TPAs and benefit administrators is inconsistent.
• Limited marketing resources make it difficult to drive awareness and adoption.

The opportunity is clear—but scaling without the right infrastructure can overwhelm even the most well-prepared teams.

How Tendo Care Connect Removes the Friction

1. Seamless Bundle Setup & Pricing Flexibility

Tendo builds and manages comprehensive care bundles, eliminating the need for systems to manually coordinate across departments. Providers retain full control over pricing and can customize rates for different employer partners.

2. E-Commerce Experience for Employers

Employers and care navigators shop for procedures in a familiar e-commerce experience, complete with custom portals. Built-in quality scores and cost comparisons empower employers to make confident, data-driven decisions.

3. Streamlined Payment & Claims Reconciliation

Care Connect collects one bundled payment and distributes it to all providers after care is delivered. Direct integration with 837/835 claim rails and TPAs simplifies adjudication and accelerates cash flow.

4. Fast, Easy Implementation

Health systems can go live in 30–60 days. Tendo manages contracting, staff training, and EMR integration—removing the heavy lift and ensuring smooth adoption.

Real Value for Providers

With Tendo Care Connect, health systems gain:

• Increased employer-driven patient volume.
• Control over cost structures and payer relationships.
• Elimination of billing ambiguity and denied claims.
• Actionable insights to optimize pricing, quality, and performance.

Why It’s Different Than Traditional D2E Models

Unlike rigid competitors, Tendo’s model is provider-first:

• Providers—not employers—set pricing.
• No PEPM fees or hidden costs.
• No “middleman” that cuts providers out of margin.

The platform is built to serve both hospitals and employers equitably, aligning incentives to make direct contracting sustainable for all parties.

Getting Started

The best place to start is close to home—with your own employees. Many health systems pilot Care Connect through their internal self-funded plan or extend it to an existing employer relationship.

From there, Tendo provides:

• Strategy support to design your D2E offering.
• Partnerships with care navigators and TPAs.
• Ongoing marketing enablement to drive adoption.

It’s time to meet employers where they are: online, shopping for value-driven care. With Tendo Care Connect, health systems can simplify direct contracting, scale strategically, and grow revenue sustainably.