Five Practical Solutions

There is no single fix for healthcare costs but there are specific, practical shifts that employers can consider, already proven to lower costs while improving health and experience for employees. Here at Henry Ford Health, we’re proposing solutions that address different points where healthcare spending breaks down: prevention, partnerships, care delivery and how employees use their benefits.

1. Treat Workforce Health as a Business Strategy

Healthcare is an investment in your workforce. Employers that have access to and understand their employee medical claims data can improve access, prevention, behavioral health, and care navigation to strengthen productivity, retention, and performance, while lowering long-term healthcare costs.

Henry Ford Health has proven this works on its own workforce: As a result of attention to both unit cost and utilization, in 2025, Henry Ford’s Employee Health Plan operated at approximately 15% lower in overall employer cost than hospital-industry peers, representing an estimated $70 million in annual savings, while maintaining competitive benefits.

Where to start: Ask your health plan or other vendors if they can share population health and utilization data. Depending on the size of your organization, consider building a shared view of workforce health across HR, Finance and Benefits.

2. Invest Where Health Begins

The highest-value healthcare dollar is spent before someone becomes seriously ill. Early access to primary care, immunizations, screenings and chronic disease support should be the default, not an extra step, toward improving value and lowering long-term costs.

On-site Henry Ford Health nurse practitioners bring trusted, convenient care directly to the workplace, connected to the broader Henry Ford Health system so a concern raised on-site becomes part of one coordinated record. Henry Ford Health's on-site care model, delivered with Health Alliance Plan, has shown a 5% lower cost of care over three years for participating employers.

Where to start: Make preventive care, screenings and chronic-condition support easy to schedule and access.

3. Build Partnerships That Deliver Value

Employers have more purchasing power in healthcare than they often realize. Direct partnerships with providers and integrated health plans can improve care access, increase transparency, and reduce unnecessary costs while creating a better experience for employees.

Through its direct-to-employer relationship with Henry Ford Health, General Motors has seen cost savings of up to 8%-15% for employees enrolled in its GM Connected Care product compared with those not enrolled in this product.

Where to start: Evaluate whether a direct-to-employer or high-value network model fits your workforce.

4.Use Technology and Care Navigation to Bend the Cost Curve

The right care in the right place costs less and works better. Technology, coordination, and data can close the gap between where care happens and where it should happen.

Henry Ford Health's Protera Health virtual musculoskeletal care program has generated more than $8,500 in average savings per patient while improving pain, and physical and mental health outcomes. Learn more.

Where to start: Identify your workforce's top avoidable cost drivers and bring in programs that intervene earlier.

5. Help Employees Make Smarter Healthcare Decisions

Employers are among the most trusted sources of health information for employees. Helping them understand benefits, navigate the system, and make informed decisions before they need urgent care ultimately lowers costs and supports a healthier workforce.

Henry Ford Health uses nurse navigation, care management, and decision-support tools to help patients and members access the right care in the right place at the right time. Approximately 65% of employees participate in our Thrive Rewards program, supporting engagement in wellness and preventive health. Annual employee surveys also help identify and prioritize rising risk employees who need support and flag risks across the employee population.

Where to start: Treat benefits communication as a year-round strategy, not just an open-enrollment event.