Open enrollment 2025 is largely still underway, yet many HR leaders are already planning for how they’ll meet the pressure to curb rising healthcare spend next year, while still getting employees the quality healthcare they need, want to use, and can afford. This is the Employer’s Dilemma; and year after year it worsens as we cope with rising healthcare costs paired with declining outcomes. Without making changes, we know it will happen again next year, as employer healthcare costs are expected go up 8% according to Business Group on Health.

A troubling trifecta

The Employer’s Dilemma is the HR Leader’s Burden. We aren’t magicians and cannot tackle rising costs or poor outcomes without new approaches, partnerships, and tools. We did not create the complexity in our healthcare system, but it is ours to solve for our employees and their loved ones.

The Employer’s Dilemma is driven by a trio of factors – fragmented experiences, low employee engagement, and confusion about the appropriate use of care. This trifecta is deeply intertwined and can only be addressed if we think differently about healthcare benefits. Over the last decade, we've been sold “Band-Aids” as solutions, but most only create more disparity, deepening the complexity. Not only is the status quo not working, maintaining it complicates the burden. For many HR leaders it feels like a sustainable solution is out of reach.

We need a better way. A novel approach that makes it easy for people to get the health and care they need - not more layers, middlemen, or call centers to answer questions. We want people to understand their benefits and use them in their moment of need. A better experience for our employees will bend the cost curve, while supporting them to be happier and healthier.

Our benefit leaders, the employees we care for, and their loved ones need healthcare to work as seamlessly as the apps that deliver our groceries on the same day. We need experiences that people love to use and are personalized for their needs.

Our iPhone moment

Most people only think about health benefits during open enrollment, and not again until they need something. However, in that moment of need, it can be hard for them to remember the details of their plan and how to use it. Often times employees don't know where to get the information they need or who to ask.

People shouldn’t have to search through complicated benefits information, rely on strangers or the internet to take the next step for their care, or connect to a call center and trust someone else to find their answers. The experience of getting personalized healthcare information should be as easy as asking your favorite AI assistant a question and getting a trusted answer.

With the responsible use of generative AI, today, we finally have what we need to change the status quo and create a healthcare experience that people love to use. Remember when the iPhone launched? It was unlike anything we'd experienced and pushed us to think differently about communicating, accessing information, and even following directions. This is our iPhone moment in healthcare benefits.

Imagine if employees could “just ask!”

The future we’ve imagined is here. People can now Just Ask Transcarent and instantly connect to personalized health and benefits information, expert clinical guidance, and on-demand care – all in one place.

Transcarent WayFinding is powered by doctors and AI, instantly putting answers, next steps, and care directly into a person’s hands. The experience is customized based on each employer’s unique benefits ecosystem and personalized to an individual person’s needs. 

• In the doctor’s office and don’t have your insurance card? Just Ask.
• Have shoulder pain and not sure what you could do?  Just Ask.
• Wondering if you can get a better price on your prescription medicine? Just Ask.

The time is now

It’s an exciting time to be an HR leader as we play a part in the evolution of healthcare and benefits. We can commit to making innovative decisions that help drive meaningful change and make it easier for our people to connect to high-quality, affordable health and care in the moment of their need. For me, I can’t wait to see what the future holds, bring on 2025!