The New Landscape of Alternative Health Plans: What Benefits Leaders Need to Know

Two thirds of employers say they expect to switch health plans in the next few years. Many are looking hard at variable copay plans, Centers of Excellence, and ICHRAs as the way out of double-digit renewals. Each of those models has an older cousin. And each of the older cousins ended up raising costs in the long run.

In this session, Zoe Greenburg, Garner's Director of Product Management, and Kirk Czonstka, Garner's SVP of Strategic Alliances, walk through two decades of cost control, from carrier quality badges to narrow networks to reference-based pricing. They explain why each one deferred the problem instead of solving it. Zoe then applies the same lens to today's three most popular alternatives. You'll hear why members often read a higher copay as the sign of a better doctor, why Centers of Excellence end up governing only about 2% of plan spend, and why the exchange plans behind an ICHRA cover a fraction of the doctors a typical PPO does.

Kirk closes with what a strategy built on individual provider performance looks like instead. The two then field a Q&A on carrier integration, rural markets, pricing, and how the model changes for fully insured groups. If a new plan design is on your shortlist for next year, watch this before you commit.