Expert Insight

5 care navigation strategies to help employers cut healthcare costs

Four new factors are dramatically increasing employer-sponsored insurance costs. We dissect these for you and offer five care navigation strategies to rein in healthcare spend and a picklist to decide which make the most sense for your organization.

Employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) costs are on the rise — but they’re unpredictable. Since 2020, ESI costs have been fluctuating at staggering rates, and we expect increases of 9% to 10% in the next couple of years. Employers can no longer assume a 2% to 4% cost increase year over year.

New factors increasing costs for employers

The COVID-19 pandemic is the obvious reason for rising costs, along with the supply chain disruptions and labor shortages associated with it. However, there are four other new factors shifting the cost landscape in employer-sponsored insurance. 
 

  1. Inflationary pressures are more prominent than ever. While they impact all stakeholders across healthcare, they are ultimately passed onto employers through cost increases.
  2. Hospital consolidation is considered a large contributor to high healthcare costs by 94% of employers. As large health systems merge, employers have more limited options and less negotiating power.
  3. High-cost claimants are rising, especially among younger plan members. The two biggest causes are cancer and prenatal/neonatal care costs.  
  4. New innovative drugs are continuously driving up costs — particularly weight loss drugs and ultra-high-cost drugs. There’s a projected annual spend of $25.3B on gene therapies alone in 2026. 

SPONSORED BY

INTENDED AUDIENCE
  • Employers
  • Health plans

AFTER YOU READ THIS
  • You will understand the new factors increasing costs for employers.

  • You will learn about the other half of employer benefit design.

  • You will delve into five example care navigation strategies and compare them.

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