Talk of soaring health care costs in the United States and around the globe could be heard in both the official sessions and the hallway chats at the Business Group on Health 2025 Annual Conference in Nashville.
Against a complex backdrop of increased prevalence of chronic conditions, growing mental health needs and rising pharmacy costs, employers and industry partners at the Annual Conference focused on the need to disrupt the status quo, drive greater value in health care spending and embrace solutions committed to transparency and sustainability. Attendees gleaned this information from dynamic sessions such as “Solving for the Health Care Cost Crisis with Bold Moves,” “Alternatives to Traditional Health Plan Models” and “Reducing the Complexity and Cost of Pharmacy Benefits,” among many others. And in these conversations, some of the most compelling takeaways emerged when panelists opened up to share strategies that worked – as well as the ones that did not. Speakers were able to candidly show others how they inspired evolutionary change.
By the close of the Annual Conference, participants were armed with an array of actionable ideas, including:
- Exploring innovative models. Consider the role of value-based purchasing and pricing models to increase ROI and accountability for outcomes. Challenge incumbents to adapt to the evolving landscape for the benefit of patients and payers. Employers should also consider faster adoption of vendor offerings emphasizing transparent reimbursement structures.
- Holding partners collectively accountable to ensure value and cost efficiency. Actions may include data-driven analyses of program effectiveness and engagement; increased transparency into cost drivers, reimbursement and payment systems; and use of claims data.
- Leveraging data analytics to inform strategic decisions, enable global tracking of outcomes and support vendor management, while addressing gaps in measurement and reporting.
- Taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital capabilities to better direct employees to low-cost, high-quality providers; to offer round-the-clock virtual care; and to automate benefits administration, among other outcomes.
To be sure, annual health care cost escalations are nothing new, and employers have always been laser-focused on best managing their drivers and limiting their growth. However, the unprecedented pace and direction of recent surges, including emerging drivers, require employers to take bold and strategic action, to safeguard the long-term sustainability of their programs and to fulfill the health care needs of employees.
