EHCW Cooperative
A cooperative advancing employer-driven healthcare through aligned strategy, transparency, and long-term value.
Recognized by the Health Rosetta Rosie Awards for advancing high-value, employer-driven healthcare through transparent, direct contracting models.
Who We Are
We are a member-owned cooperative of school districts, municipalities, and self-funded employers working together to build and scale high-value healthcare.
Organized under Wisconsin Chapter 193, our members align around a clear model: employer-sponsored independent direct primary care, direct contracting as the foundation, removal of barriers to high-value care, and fully transparent pharmacy strategies.
Why Employers Join EHCW
Members gain access to a comprehensive set of tools and partners that help improve their health plan performance and reduce costs, including:
– High-value provider options through direct contracting
– Group stop-loss purchasing
– Incentive-aligned stop-loss pricing for using EHCW plan components
– Direct Primary Care solutions
– Data analytics and reporting
– Health plan performance evaluation
– Employee and employer education
– Collective strength and influence (“power in numbers”)
How Employers Strengthen Their Health Plans
Employer-Based Primary Care
We partner with independent clinics dedicated to transparent, patient-focused primary care, including:
- Anovia Health
- Neopath Clinics
- Clear Path Clinic (an EHCW clinic)
- Additional vetted primary care partners
Independent primary care is a foundational component of a high-performing health plan, helping employers lower costs while improving the patient experience.
Smart Self Funding
Smart Self-Funding means building a health plan intentionally — using the right partners, aligned incentives, transparent pricing, and tools that empower employees to make informed healthcare choices. EHCW supports employers with:
- Direct contracting
- Group stop-loss purchasing
- Direct Primary Care integration
- Transparent PBMs
- Group education
- Care navigation and member support
Preferred Partners
To help employers implement high-value solutions, EHCW collaborates with trusted partners, including:
- Prairie States Enterprises
- Health Payment Systems
- Alliance
- Anovia Health
- Neopath Primary Care Clinics
- Copay Clarity
- Trilogy
- Cedar Crest Surgery Center
- Solstice
These partners share our commitment to transparency, affordability, and patient-centered care.
How Employers Move from Reacting to Costs → to Shaping Them
Podcast: The Employer Cooperative Model
How Wisconsin Employers Are Transforming Healthcare Through Cooperative Action
Host Dave Chase welcomes Patrick Blackaller, the driving force behind the Employer Healthcare Cooperative of Wisconsin. Together, they dive into the journey of transforming healthcare for schools and employers in Wisconsin, shifting from an extractive industry toward a model that prioritizes care, cost transparency, and community partnerships.
You’ll hear honest reflections on the tough choices and personal stories that sparked this movement, including the profound impact of rising costs and restrictive insurance plans on real people. Patrick Blackaller shares how direct contracts, innovative clinics, and new pharmacy approaches are not only saving millions but also bringing dignity and access back into healthcare. This episode is packed with lessons on pioneering change, even in the face of skepticism, and offers a blueprint for other communities ready to take bold steps toward a better future.
Listen to the Conversation
Our Philosophy
Bringing Care Back Into Healthcare
Decades ago, hospitals and medical providers operated with an altruistic mission—focused first on caring for patients, with finances as a secondary concern. Over time, healthcare has shifted toward revenue-driven models, often placing financial incentives ahead of patient needs.
EHCW is working to restore balance. By aligning employer incentives with high-quality providers and transparent partners, we help bring care back to healthcare—where patients are not viewed as revenue sources, but as people deserving thoughtful, effective, and affordable care.
Join the EHCW Cooperative
Membership gives employers access to shared expertise, innovative benefit design strategies, independent primary care models, and proven tools for controlling costs. Together, members share best practices and build health plans that deliver better outcomes at lower costs.
A more transparent, high-value approach to employer healthcare—built on alignment, collaboration, and measurable results.
Connect with us to learn more
