Employers expect health benefit costs to increase 5.4% per employee on average in 2024, new data from Mercer shows. This is due to inflationary pressures and health system consolidation.

Point solutions for areas like behavioral health, family planning and more have risen in popularity in recent years, experts said. But as employers deal with point solution fatigue, healthcare navigation companies are proving beneficial.

Health benefit costs increased 3.2% in 2022, but employers are expecting costs to jump even higher in 2023, a Mercer report showed. Employers’ top priorities right now are providing benefits that attract and retain employees and boosting mental health support.

Cell and gene therapies are offering patients potentially curative treatments for a growing scope of diseases. Insurance companies are trying to figure out how to pay for them. Industry consultants speaking at the HLTH conference offered some strategies they see payers taking to these new therapies.

Surgery management has emerged as a key area where employers are collaborating with providers through companies like Transcarent to provide more informed guidance on surgery care delivery options for the best patient outcomes and experience.

As they seek to support their staff, self-insured employers are turning to innovative programs to balance evidence-based programs with the need to manage healthcare costs.

According to a 2017 employer survey, a third of companies with more than 5,000 employees now offer general medical clinics at their work sites.