Plans · by funding type
Self-funded vs fully-insured vs mixed
Every large employer welfare benefit plan files a Form 5500 with the DOL each year. Line 9b of that form reveals how the plan is funded — whether benefits come from an insurance contract or from the employer's own assets. This classification is DERIVED from the filing; it describes the whole Form 5500, not your specific health benefit.
Self-funded — on this filing, benefits are paid from the employer's general assets or a benefit trust (the filer marked general-assets/trust and not insurance). The plan sponsor bears the claims risk; there may be stop-loss insurance behind it that the form does not show.
Fully-insured — on this filing, the benefits are provided through an insurance contract (the filer marked the insurance box and not the general-assets or trust boxes). An insurer bears the claims risk; the employer pays premiums.
Mixed — this filing marks BOTH insurance AND general-assets/trust. A single Form 5500 usually bundles several benefits (health, dental, life, disability), so some are likely insured while others are self-funded. The form does not say WHICH benefit is which — read the plan's Summary Plan Description (SPD) or Schedule A to know how YOUR health benefit specifically is funded.
Not stated — this filing did not mark a benefit-arrangement box, so the public record does not establish whether it is insured or self-funded. Read the plan's SPD or the DOL EFAST filing to find out.