The Direct-to-Employer Opportunity Health Systems Cannot Afford to Miss

There is a quiet but significant shift happening in the employer benefits market, and health systems that recognize it early will gain a meaningful advantage in commercial market share.

Employers are no longer passive purchasers of health care. According to the Business Group on Health’s 2027 Employer Health Care Strategy Survey, employers entered this year at a steep cost disadvantage after back-to-back record increases in health care spending in 2023 and 2024 — the highest in a decade. In response, they are actively seeking new delivery and contracting models, not simply renegotiating rates with the same partners.

UnitedHealthcare reports that employers are projecting a median 9% health care cost trend for 2026, which only drops to 7.6% even after planned benefit design changes. That is not a gap that employers can absorb indefinitely. It is driving them toward direct relationships with health systems, advanced primary care models, and centers of excellence that promise both transparency and accountability for outcomes.

This is precisely the opening that forward-thinking health systems should be walking through right now. The employer community is actively looking for provider partners who can demonstrate value, engage employees proactively, and take on appropriate levels of risk. They want relationships built on data and accountability, not just network access.

I have spent the better part of my career working at this intersection of payers, providers, and employers, and I can tell you that the health systems winning commercial business today are not simply competing on price. They are competing on their ability to identify at-risk employees before a claim is generated, navigate members to the right care settings, and demonstrate cost and quality outcomes in language that a CFO can act on.

The population health infrastructure required to do this well does not have to be built from scratch. The right technology and analytics partnerships make it achievable — and the market timing has never been better.

Curious about how your health system can build or strengthen a direct-to-employer strategy? Book a demo with our team and let us show you what is possible.

Sources: Business Group on Health, “2026 Employer Health Care Strategy Survey,” August 2025; UnitedHealthcare, “7 Trends Shaping Employer Benefits Strategies in 2026,” December 2025.