By Paige Minemyer Jan 20, 2026
Capital Rx A.J. Loiacono Employer-Sponsored Health Plan Healthcare Costs
Last fall, transparent pharmacy benefit manager Capital Rx rebranded as Judi Health in a bid to better reflect the breadth of the company’s portfolio.
Now, it’s expanding that work further with the launch of the Judi Group, an advisory firm aimed at supporting health plan fiduciaries in identifying compliance gaps, contract inconsistencies and underlying cost drivers. The Judi Group’s team will conduct “forensic-level” analyses across the vendors a plan sponsor works with to spot and remedy these issues, according to an announcement shared exclusively with Fierce Healthcare.
The firm’s experts include insurance industry veterans who carry both public and private sector experience in managing benefits, per the announcement.
Jeffrey Hogan, managing director and co-founder of the Judi Group, told Fierce Healthcare in an interview that this isn’t a particularly new conversation. Employers have been frustrated for years over the amount that they pay for benefits and the often poor outcomes they see in return, he said.
Related
Capital Rx banks $400M in funding, rebrands as Judi Health
So with that in mind, Hogan and Judi Health CEO A.J. Loiacono sat down together last fall to dig into the pain points for plan sponsors and where Judi could play a role. Employers’ struggles start with just a lack of transparency into where costs are coming from and where they could look to address key barriers.
“It’s just a complete black box for larger players,” Hogan said.
The Judi Group’s reviews are designed to surface impactful hidden clauses, inefficiencies and other leverage points that plan sponsors can use in renegotiating relationships with vendors. The team will also conduct a complete compliance audit that evaluates standing across federal, state and contractual needs, according to the announcement.
Employers will also be able to tap into modeling around high-cost claims to determine if their stop-loss coverage is adequate for their potential exposure.
The analysis also does not begin and end with medical benefits and will track potential strategic priorities across pharmacy coverage and ancillary benefits, such as visual and dental as well. Judi Health said this reflects the company’s broader push beyond PBM services to be more of an enterprise health platform.
Hogan said that part of why it makes sense now to launch the consultancy is that critical technology is in place to enable reviews at this scale, and providers are also starting to see the opportunity in going directly to the employer with their potential services.
Loiacono told Fierce that self-insured employers have come to simply accept the status quo over time, as they’ve generally been taught that they are not in control of these key decisions. He said that he soon heard frustrations from other key players who believe that they deserve an advocate who can amplify their concerns.
“If you think about the liability and the fiduciary responsibility of a self-insured payer, you should be able to do everything from the perspective of data rights and workflow management,” Loiacono said.
He added that as costs related to healthcare benefits continue to mount, employers will keep speaking up and asking questions, making the Judi Group an even more valuable partner.
Hogan said that given the inflection point healthcare finds itself at, there’s never been a better moment for these plan sponsors to think differently about benefits.
“The mood of the public is worse than I’ve ever seen before,” he said. “It’s a time to do things that are different, to actually go after this whole notion of consumerism.”
