Today’s HR leaders face a critical challenge: balancing the ever-rising costs of health insurance coverage with employees’ desires for comprehensive, meaningful benefits plans.
With the total health benefit cost per employee expected to rise an average of 6.5% in 2026, traditional cost-containment strategies — including the use of high-deductible health plans, a reduction in benefit offerings and increased cost-shifting to employees — clash with Americans’ current feelings about the high price of healthcare access.
As a result, an increasing number of employers are considering non-traditional approaches to their healthcare plan design this year.
For those who are not yet ready to completely redesign their benefits strategy from scratch, there remains an equally effective, easily implemented solution: a renewed focus on employee education and engagement programs.
By empowering plan members with the tools and information they need to control their own healthcare costs and experience, HR teams can support measurable savings on both the employee and employer side — while simultaneously maintaining the high-quality benefits coverage necessary for attracting valuable worker talent.
The opportunity cost of unengaged plan members
According to a 2024 KFF report, 58% of insured adults say they have experienced problems using their health insurance, such as denied claims, provider network problems and pre-authorization problems. For many, this is directly due to the complexity of their coverage, with more than one-third of adults reporting that it is “somewhat” or “very difficult” to understand what their insurance will and will not cover.
As a result, some plan members choose to forgo seeking care entirely rather than to brave the rough waters of the American healthcare system.
This opportunity cost represents more than just a wasted investment for employers. More than half of members who delay care say they've experienced negative health consequences as a result. This can be seen in the increased occurrence of late-stage diagnoses and chronic health conditions, which both cost the American healthcare system billions of dollars each year.
The role of transparency in educating and empowering employees
To minimize patient confusion (and reduce the likelihood of unexpected care costs), the U.S. federal government has mandated health plans implement and offer price transparency tools. By clearly stating estimated out-of-pocket costs for specific providers and procedures, these digital platforms pull back the curtain for plan members — supporting more informed, cost-effective healthcare choices.
Unfortunately, not all transparency tools provide the missing piece of the puzzle for consumers: how pricing relates to the quality of care ultimately delivered.
In an industry where higher prices don’t always equal better care outcomes, tools that include price alone do little to educate health plan members or deliver savings over time. Without knowing what “high-value” care is and how to look for it, employees can inadvertently seek care from providers that do not provide the quality care they deserve.
That’s why the true potential of employee engagement and education in reducing healthcare costs can only be achieved when HR teams and their plan designers use comprehensive transparency tools that provide both cost and quality data to plan members, such as the Valenz Bluebook platform.
“By using industry-leading data sources for both provider price and care quality outcomes, Valenz Bluebook makes it easier than ever for members to navigate to the highest-quality provider at the lowest cost,” said Stan Opstad, Senior Vice President of Product at Vālenz Health®. “This innovative approach delivers an average savings of $1,500 per procedure each time an employee uses the platform — supporting our mission to optimize the cost, quality and utilization of healthcare for everyone.”
Changing behavior — and reducing costs — with education and engagement campaigns
Providing information and tools to members isn’t enough to change member behavior, as indicated by the low rates of adoption of newly minted transparency tools.
To maximize their cost-containment effects, these resources must also be paired with strategic education and engagement campaigns, such as:
- Financial incentives that reward members for using the tools and selecting high-value providers, often deployed in the form of monetary rewards and/or lower out-of-pocket costs for members
- Healthcare navigation tools, including direct access to care navigators that can identify high-risk populations and help guide member decisions in real time
- Personalized outreach, gamification strategies and communications campaigns, such as text messages and emails that remind members of the resources available to them
These initiatives are most successful when deployed together as part of a comprehensive member engagement strategy. As just one example, by combining the power of the Valenz Bluebook platform with its Engagement Rewards feature, one employer in the Southeast increased monthly member utilization rate by 52% — delivering $239,000 in savings for a total seven times return on investment for the program.
“By empowering members with clarity and confidence, Valenz Bluebook consistently delivers significant savings for all involved in the process,” said Christie LaGrange, Executive Vice President of Client Success at Valenz. “We’re not just helping members make better decisions; we’re guiding them to higher-value care that leads to better outcomes and simplifies the entire healthcare experience.”
Changing benefits culture for a smarter, cost-effective path forward
When strategically combined, transparency tools, education and engagement initiatives are instrumental in supporting smarter care decisions — ultimately delivering an improved healthcare experience for employees and lower costs for both employees, employers and the plan itself.
HR leaders seeking to contain costs in the upcoming renewal season should rethink insurance coverage as a guided experience, not just a one-time plan offering. Those health plan designs that incorporate ongoing member education and engagement strategies will be best positioned to change the culture of the entire employer-sponsored healthcare experience, creating a sense of shared responsibility among employees and employer for the best chance of success.
As an industry-leading provider of member-focused healthcare solutions, Valenz can help you implement an integrated transparency and member engagement strategy that is tailored to your organization’s unique needs and goals for higher savings and a better employee experience. Contact us today to learn more.
