A defensible methodology your clients can trust.

Contract X-Ray is an independent, third-party framework for evaluating PBM contracts. Use it to support fiduciary review, negotiation, and renewal conversations with the plan sponsors you serve.

01 · The methodology problem

Your clients are asking how they know their PBM contract is good.

Plan sponsors increasingly want a defensible answer to a board-level question: does our contract support our fiduciary obligations? “Trust me” does not hold up to a fiduciary committee, and a proprietary scorecard built in-house does not carry the weight of an independent third party.

An independent framework, developed by experts and applied consistently across contracts, takes that conversation off your plate. The advisor brings the relationship and the judgment. The framework brings the methodology.

The framework is the credential. Your relationship is the value.

02 · How advisors use Contract X-Ray

Three use cases that fit how you already work.

Use case 01

Discovery and triage

A free Quick Look is a low-friction starting point with a new client. You learn the shape of the contract and the size of the gap before committing to deeper work. Run it before the first strategy meeting.
Use case 02

Negotiation support

The Full Assessment includes redline language for every Red Flag and Concern finding, with proposed replacement text and negotiation priority. It is the document you would otherwise build from scratch. Use it as the foundation for the negotiation pack.
Use case 03

Annual fiduciary review

Re-score the contract before renewal to show the fiduciary committee the trajectory. Compare against the prior cycle to surface what improved, what regressed, and what work remains.

03 · What you receive

The same deliverables your client sees, branded under the independent framework.

The Quick Look is free. The Full Assessment is paid by the plan sponsor. Nautilus delivers both. The advisor receives the PDF and routes it to the client; the client sees an independent third-party analysis under the Nautilus name, not the advisor’s firm.

This is intentional. The point of using an independent framework is that it is independent. The advisor gets the analytical work product without having to put the firm’s name on the methodology.

Quick Look (free)

Two-page PDF with the Fiduciary Alignment Score, ten-provision breakdown, reference set placement, and three to five top findings. Delivered as an email PDF within minutes of submission.

Full Assessment (paid by the plan sponsor)

Adds the eight to ten page Negotiation Report with redline language, an Executive Brief for board presentation, and a Data Sovereignty Score with tier designation.

Ready to analyze a client’s contract?

Analyze a contract →

04 · Who this is for

Advisors who serve plan sponsors in any role.

Independent benefits consultants and advisors supporting self-funded employer clients with PBM strategy, RFP, and renewal work.
ERISA attorneys advising plan sponsors on fiduciary process, contract review, and CAA 2026 compliance work.
Coalition staff and association leaders supporting member employers with shared analytics, benchmarking, and group-level negotiating.
Internal benefits teams who function as advisors to their own organization’s fiduciary committee.

Interested in multi-employer engagements? Nautilus is building a Network Partner Program for advisors, coalitions, and associations supporting multiple employer relationships with shared methodology, custom reporting, and access to aggregate benchmark data.

05 · What this is not

An independent framework. Not a revenue stream, not a replacement, not a captive tool.

Nautilus Health Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. A few things the framework deliberately does not do.

Not a revenue stream for advisors. Nautilus does not pay referral fees, and advisors do not pay to use the framework. Quick Look is free. Full Assessment is paid by the plan sponsor.
Not a replacement for advisor expertise. The report is an analytical input. The judgment about how to negotiate, what to prioritize, and what the relationship requires belongs to the advisor who knows the client.
Not a captive tool. Any advisor can use Contract X-Ray on any client’s contract. There is no exclusivity, no certification gate, and no firm-level lock-in.

Bring the framework. Keep the relationship.

Free Quick Look on any client contract. PDF in your inbox within minutes.