Blogs

This article is a deep dive into key learnings from Accorded’s 2023 Survey of US Benefits Leaders. See the full research summary here →

It’s often said that HR leaders are in the health insurance business – and it’s true. Sufficiently large companies tend to be self-funded, meaning they foot the bill for their health plan claims. Benefits teams do not just manage their company’s benefits package, but spend a substantial amount of time trying to manage the health (and therefore risk) of their members.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we live, work, and receive healthcare. But are these lasting changes? We examine the utilization of telehealth before, during, and after the pandemic to understand if the rise in telehealth was a temporary trend or a fundamental shift in how people expect to access healthcare.

The US healthcare landscape is changing. Traditional fee-for-service (FFS) payment models have proven to be financially unsustainable and ineffective at addressing patient needs, a trend that has only been exacerbated by COVID-19 and rapid inflation. The pressure from regulators, patients, and market disruptors to move away from FFS is pushing the market to reconsider how contracts should be structured to best align payer and provider incentives for improving quality of care, enhancing patient experience, and reducing cost of care.

This past year, our team has made strides to make value-based contracting easier by introducing Contract Designer, which enables organizations of any size to enter into value-based arrangements regardless of their level of actuarial and data capabilities.

Employers have a tremendous responsibility when developing a benefits strategy that will drive the best healthcare outcomes for their people. In an increasingly saturated marketplace, benefits teams are inundated with countless potential healthcare vendor solutions to choose from, but lack the resources to cut through the noise and confidently select the vendors that drive the best outcomes for their workforce's unique needs at the lowest costs.

Every provider has a plan to move into value-based contracts over time, but most lack the operational capabilities needed to move to risk and therefore end up being stuck in fee-for-service mode.

In this fireside chat, Accorded CEO and Co-Founder, Frank Cheung, talks to Nick Aubin, CEO and Co-Founder of Commons Clinic, about what it’s really like to implement value-based contracts as a modern multi-specialty clinic.

Value-based care (VBC) holds providers accountable for the patient care that they deliver and incentivizes them to improve clinical outcomes and reduce cost of care.

For employers that want to ensure that the pricing of a solution is aligned with ROI and want to select providers who can drive the most clinical and financial value to their organization, value-based contracts can help to maximize healthcare investments.