A senior vice president of health and welfare benefits consulting recently gave leaders a deadline. The time to begin planning for a company’s 2028 health benefits is this coming January, she said. 

That directive was delivered even as open enrollment for next year hadn’t ended. But, as healthcare costs continue to spike, no amount of planning may be too much. 

Employers face competing pressures of making care affordable for workers while dealing with higher costs. 

Part of that preparation, too, is helping workers know which benefits they need, experts said. 

Read on for more coverage of the health and benefits realm, including the potential for value-based care and a new pharmacy benefit manager disclosure rule.