At IntoValue, we accelerate provider organizations’ success with direct contracting with employers. We are uniquely positioned to enable both providers and self-insured employers to improve employee health outcomes and care experience, all while reducing the cost of care.

Here, we share the most interesting recent thought pieces about innovations in improving employer-sponsored healthcare.

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COST TRENDS

Health Insurance Costs for Businesses to Rise by Most in 15 Years 

The Wall Street Journal reports that employers are bracing for the steepest health insurance cost increase in 15 years—projected at nearly 9.5% for 2026. The drivers are clear: rising hospital prices, the growing use of services for serious conditions, and expensive new drugs like GLP-1s. While some organizations are trying to blunt the impact with plan redesigns or shifting costs to employees, many are rethinking their insurer and PBM relationships altogether. The trend underscores a growing urgency for transparency, innovation, and cost-containment strategies in employer-sponsored healthcare.

IntoValue helps health systems and medical groups design and deploy services that meet employee healthcare needs. 

DATA ACCESS & TRANSPARENCY

Pulse of the Purchaser 2025 Survey Results

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ 2025 Pulse of the Purchaser Survey highlights that affordability threats continue to dominate employer concerns, with drug prices, hospital costs, and high-cost claims leading the list. Employers with full claims data access are significantly more likely to implement advanced PBM and hospital strategies that deliver value. Adoption of transparent PBMs more than doubled in the past year, boosting confidence in cost management and fiduciary safeguards. The findings point to a clear takeaway: transparency and data access are the critical levers for controlling costs and protecting employees.  

IntoValue works directly with care delivery organizations to provide the high quality, cost-conscious, accessible care that employers and employees seek.  

PREMIUM INFLATION

Perspective: The Price Increases That Should Cause Americans More Alarm  

KFF Health News offers the perspective that health insurance premiums are climbing at a pace that should concern every American. Employer-sponsored coverage has more than quadrupled since 1999, with rates rising over 6% just from 2023 to 2024—outpacing both wages and inflation. On the ACA marketplace, proposed hikes for 2026 are staggering: 66% in New York and 33% in Colorado, with many states seeing increases over 20%. Deductibles are rising too, with ACA silver plans now averaging nearly $5,000—double what they were a decade ago. The data points to a system where coverage is becoming increasingly unsustainable, especially for smaller employers and families. ests that paying more for care at a top-rated hospital doesn't guarantee better quality. 

At IntoValue, we work with health systems to ensure employees have access to high quality care – at reasonable, predictable costs – while also building stronger relationships with local, regional, and national employers.  

HIGH-COST CLAIMANTS & CHRONIC CONDITION BURDEN

A Small Number of Workers Account for Most Health Costs

New insights from the Employee Benefit Research Institute underscores just how concentrated healthcare spending really is in employer-sponsored plans. In 2022, 20% of workers and their dependents accounted for 84% of all spending, with the top 1% alone driving nearly 30%. Chronic conditions are the big driver—61% of enrollees had at least one, and this group represented 92% of all costs, led by respiratory disease, heart disease, and musculoskeletal disorders. For employers, the takeaway is clear: managing high-cost claimants and chronic conditions is essential to bending the cost curve and designing smarter benefits strategies.  

MARKET POWER & CONSOLIDATION

Health Care Costs are Soaring. Blame Insurers, Drug Companies — and Your Employer

NPR’s All Things Considered reports health care costs in the U.S. are climbing at the fastest pace in 15 years, and employers are caught in the middle. Companies are facing nearly a 9% jump in benefit costs per employee, and many are planning to pass those increases to workers through higher paycheck deductions, copays, and deductibles. The average family premium is now $25,572—up 52% in the past decade. What’s driving it? Expensive new drugs, greater demand for care post-pandemic, and consolidation across insurers and hospitals—all highlighting how little true market competition exists in U.S. healthcare.