Proactive Care Strategy Today

Strong research continues to support COVID immunization status as significantly protective for overall health and longevity. Personal biases aside, the evidence reinforces vaccination campaigns as a sound public health and workforce strategy. A large study of more than 28 million adults under age 60 found that individuals who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had lower all-cause mortality over a four-year period compared with those who were unvaccinated. A

Many self-insured employers and large risk-bearing organizations must strategize and budget Total Rewards within a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) that typically ranges from 2% to 4% annually. At the same time, rising health benefit costs, averaging 7% to 8%, often force proportional reductions in compensation adjustments. Employer compensation is one of the most powerful Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) for working populations. When pay growth slows, health outcomes can

How can we get all healthcare marketplace stakeholders working together to address rising costs and slow the year-over-year premium increases in employer-sponsored health plans? A few key, actionable, and realistic steps stand out. First, the member: link proactivity and better health maintenance to real financial value. Reduced downstream utilization, especially inpatient, should translate into lower premium contributions and increased compensation. Second, the plan: make

Maintaining target cholesterol levels throughout life helps prevent heart attacks, strokes, and dementia. Regular monitoring and appropriate treatment reduce the risk of future hospitalization and skilled nursing facility care. Statin drugs are an effective and widely available tool to help individuals reach cholesterol goals when diet and exercise alone are not enough. Despite ongoing and popular misinformation, strong evidence continues to show that statins are safe and eff

When promoting strategies such as improving primary care access and utilization, it is important to understand where the current delivery model stands. While many new technologies promise to improve provider efficiency and productivity, they have not yet fully delivered on that promise despite significant marketing. What continues to show value is allowing providers dedicated time within the clinic day to think about and support patient care, including documentation and follo

This article addresses a pressing issue within today’s U.S. healthcare marketplace. Consumerism can be effective when benefits leaders, acting without bias or conflicts of interest, help members access high-value care. However, cost, quality, and value are not the only drivers of decision-making. Marketing campaigns, social pressures, and misinformation increasingly influence both patients and providers. GLP-1 receptor agonists are one of several treatment options for type 2

Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular (heart attack), neurovascular (stroke), and chronic kidney disease. It is also one of the largest contributors to inpatient utilization and total medical plan cost for most self-insured employers. The challenge is that hypertension is treatable, which means a significant amount of inpatient utilization and health plan cost is preventable, yet it causes few, if any, early symptoms. Benefits leaders must move beyond ed

Having a unified, holistic behavioral health strategy is essential to improving outcomes across all clinical categories. Behavioral health is deeply interconnected with physical health, especially in populations managing chronic disease. Emerging research shows that Black and Latino patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are significantly more likely to experience post-traumatic stress related to their condition, with rates of PTSD diagnosis and symptom severity subst

Helping women maintain a healthy body weight is an investment that produces positive outcomes in both the near and long terms. Healthy weight is closely linked to metabolic health, including insulin regulation, which plays a critical role in long-term wellbeing. Emerging research shows that women with higher insulin levels in midlife are more likely to experience menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, at a younger age, and these symptoms tend to last longer

When assessing the return on investment of any medical intervention, including GLP-1 medications, it is critical to evaluate the total cost of care, including both medical and pharmacy spend, compared with a matched cohort. Focusing only on pharmacy cost provides an incomplete and often misleading picture. The broader clinical impact must be considered, especially for populations with cardiometabolic disease. Emerging evidence shows that GLP-1 receptor agonists may provide me

Providing dietary advice and guidance for any large population can be daunting. Each person is a unique, interconnected individual with different needs. Yet, common threads have emerged as nutrition research has improved. The best strategy is to provide a trusted source of truth where the population can receive clear, general guidance built around three key concepts. First, focus on dietary choices aligned with the Mediterranean diet, which has been associated with significan

Want to start shifting rising medical and pharmacy benefit cost trends? Employers must move benefits strategy from reactive, high-cost care to PROACTIVE CARE that reduces downstream utilization, including inpatient services. There is an easily identifiable cohort most likely to become future high-cost claimants: individuals with cardiometabolic disease, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Removing barriers to care for these common chronic

Women are physically and physiologically different from men, yet most benefits strategies fail to reflect the populations they serve. Optimizing health, quality of life, and productivity starts with recognizing each person as whole and designing distinct care journeys for women and men. The current system is clinically appropriate for men and was largely built that way. Women need a different journey, tailored to their unique needs across adolescence, reproductive years, midl

There is no way to reverse the upward trend in total cost of care without a PROACTIVE CARE strategy. Financial tactics alone, such as negotiating rates or frequently switching administrators and vendors, do not address the root cause: the growing demand for costly medical and pharmaceutical services driven by rising chronic conditions. Nearly six in ten commercially insured Americans had at least one chronic condition in 2024, and many had multiple co-occurring conditions, s

Vaccination for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has received significant attention recently, which can increase anxiety around confirming immunization status for those at highest risk. Clear, evidence-based education remains essential, as current RSV vaccination recommendations do not always align with the breadth of risk across the adult population. Recent research found that more than one-quarter of U.S. adults have at least one diagnosed risk factor for severe RSV diseas

Finding ways to provide ongoing, high-quality, evidence-based information on the definitions and benefits of a healthy lifestyle is a foundational strategy for any benefits team. Continued efforts to improve education and drive engagement are worthwhile and support stronger long-term outcomes. Recent evidence reinforces this approach. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was consistently associated with lower rates of major

This is a strong study with findings that should be considered in any population health or substance use disorder (SUD) strategy. While some patients report benefit from cannabis, clinical experience also shows meaningful behavioral health complications, with negative outcomes often outweighing positives. The evidence base supports this caution. A large review of 15 years of research found that the health benefits of medical cannabis are frequently weak or inconclusive, and n

We continue to follow the research on smoking cessation and vaping. It remains unclear whether vaping is an optimal long-term solution for quitting smoking, as results from high-quality studies have been mixed. That said, current evidence suggests vaping may be preferable to continued cigarette use. Research indicates that smokers who both vape and smoke are more likely to eventually quit smoking and reduce overall cigarette consumption compared with those who only smoke, whi

The rising incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes is driven by a combination of total caloric intake and food choices. One effective way to address this growing risk is to gradually educate individuals on higher-quality food choices and how to purchase them. Creating a clear and tangible link between specific foods and disease helps make risk more real and actionable. Research supports this approach, showing that diets with higher inflammatory or hyperinsulinemic potenti

When developing an obesity strategy, it is critical to accurately identify the population most at risk for downstream morbidity and cost. BMI is useful, but it is increasingly clear that more precise metrics are needed. The weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) offers a stronger way to identify high-risk individuals by better reflecting central adiposity and fat distribution. Recent research shows that WWI outperforms BMI and other obesity indices in predicting cardiovascular dis