--- title: How to Restore Healthcare Purchasing Power with Member Engagement Solutions description: Learn how to combat the rising prices of hospital consolidations and mergers with member-focused solutions that encourage low-cost, high-value care choices. image: https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hubfs/Blog/hospital-consolidations.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#page-content) [![Valenz Health](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hubfs/web/logo.svg)](https://www.valenzhealth.com/) - [Who We Serve](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/) - [Solutions](https://www.valenzhealth.com/solutions/member-experience/) - [About Us](https://www.valenzhealth.com/about-us/) - [Resources](https://www.valenzhealth.com/resources/) - [Contact](https://www.valenzhealth.com/contact/) ### [Patients](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/members/) ### Payers - [Employers](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/employers/) - [Taft-Hartley Funds](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/taft-hartley-funds/) ### Providers - [Healthcare Facilities and Providers](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/healthcare-facilities-and-providers/) ### Plans - [Health Plans](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/health-plans/) - [Third-Party Administrators](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/third-party-administrators-tpas/) - [Brokers and Consultants](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/brokers/) - [Stop Loss Producers](https://www.valenzhealth.com/who-we-serve/stop-loss-producers/) #### Partner with Us Discover how Vālenz Health® can simplify the healthcare experience with our innovative solutions. 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Nurses and doctors can be seen in the background.](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog/hospital-consolidations.png?width=485&height=485&name=hospital-consolidations.png) From 2002 to 2020, the United States saw more than 1,000 hospital mergers occur, with the Federal Trade Commission [only intervening in about 1% of those consolidations](https://tobin.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2024-02/Hospital_Merger_Heterogeneity_manuscript.pdf) — letting the monopolization of care in certain regions run unchecked and leaving health plans and their members stuck paying the inflated prices. [A recent report from KFF](https://kffhealthnews.org/health-industry/hospital-mergers-monopolies-drive-healthcare-costs-asheville-north-carolina/) details the effects on the community of Asheville, N.C., where a hospital merger resulted in significantly higher prices for residents with only one hospital available in their region. According to the think tank Rand, Mission Hospital charged prices that were [334% of prices set by Medicare](https://employerptp.org/sage-transparency/) — a stark comparison to the state benchmark of 280% of Medicare. Similar circumstances are playing out across the country, contributing to the [ever-rising costs of healthcare](https://www.kff.org/topic/health-costs/) for Americans. As hospitals continue to consolidate and merge, they have effectively reduced employer negotiating power traditionally made possible by strategic network design. **As a result, today's employers need a new approach: one that strengthens purchasing power through member-focused health plan design.** Below, we'll explain how empowering health plan members to make high-value care decisions can fight back against modern hospital consolidations to restore purchasing power and reduce healthcare costs for members and health plans alike. ## How Hospital Mergers and Consolidations Impact Employer Healthcare Costs & Member Care Outcomes PwC estimates that the commercial healthcare cost trend is [expected to rise by 9% in 2027](https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/behind-the-numbers.html), with Mercer estimating that average costs for employer-sponsored healthcare will hit [more than $18,000 per employee](https://www.mercer.com/en-us/about/newsroom/employers-and-workers-face-affordability-crunch-as-health-insurnace-cost-is-expected-to-exceed-18500-per-employee-in-2026/). Many industry factors play into this increase, including expensive gene and cell therapies, pricey prescription medication, and lapsed government subsidies. **But an equally important reason is the increase in American hospital mergers and consolidations over the last few decades, largely due to the financial challenges of the modern healthcare system and their effects on small, independent hospitals.** In attempting to solve those financial challenges through buyouts and mergers, healthcare facilities are often simply shifting those costs to consumers. A 2025 study of more than 200 hospital mergers revealed that [prices increased by 12.9%](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38652542/) six years after an acquisition occurred. But hospital mergers don't just impact how much patients and insurers pay for actual services delivered. Higher hospital prices deployed on a large scale also lead to higher overall healthcare prices for insurers and payers — many of whom pass those higher costs onto members via additional premium increases. A 2025 study of more than 200 hospital mergers revealed that [**prices increased by 12.9%**](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38652542/) six years after an acquisition occurred. A 2024 study by the University of Chicago found that merger-driven increases in hospital prices are [passed through on almost a dollar-to-dollar basis into health spending](https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/who-pays-for-rising-health-care-prices-evidence-from-hospital-mergers) and, in turn, insurance premiums. For example, a 1% increase in healthcare prices lowered both payroll and employment at firms outside the health sector by approximately 0.4%. These inflated prices only tell part of the story. A 2025 study of nearly 150 high-concentration hospital mergers also found a reduction in patient volume, employment, and wages, [as well as deteriorating quality of care, including higher patient mortality](https://www.nber.org/papers/w34180). Low-quality healthcare can exacerbate existing healthcare conditions, leading to higher plan spend over time and a negative feedback loop that's increasingly hard for employers and employees to address without significant plan redesign. ## How Employers Can Help Restore Employee Healthcare Purchasing Power The good news: Today's employers and employees are not helpless when it comes to the price pressures of hospital mergers and consolidations. Many solutions — including those offered by Vālenz Health® — can give members back their purchasing power and decision-making leverage. Supported by tools that actively educate and guide them to select low-cost, high-quality care, members can better avoid the higher prices from mergers and consolidations in favor of facilities that provide high-value care at a reasonable cost. Employers can play a significant role in making this happen through strategic plan design, including features that support cost and quality visibility, member education, and rewards for high-value care choices. ### Support Price Transparency and Navigation In a 2025 study of national insurer rates, prices for common medical procedures [varied by 50% to more than 200%](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11798183/), with a minimal link between price and quality. In fact, hospitals with the highest price markups for elective surgeries have actually been found to [deliver worse outcomes for patients](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/hospitals-highest-price-markups-elective-surgeries-have-worse-outcomes). Unfortunately, many health plan members are unaware of these differences — but not for a lack of interest. While [58% of Americans](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-finds-majority-of-healthcare-consumers-conditioned-to-not-shop-around-for-the-best-price-301639506.html) say they are willing to "shop" for healthcare if pricing information is disclosed prior to services behind rendered, many health plans fail to deliver the digital tools needed to successfully demonstrate the differences in pricing among facilities and providers. This becomes even more critical in regions affected by hospital mergers, where members may be completely unaware of cheaper options available outside of major medical facilities. However, when members are provided with [intuitive price transparency and navigation tools](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/price-transparency-in-healthcare), they can more easily identify these differences — and choose the care options that are more fairly priced than those offered by facilities that have undergone mergers and consolidations. According to an AKASA study, [58% of Americans](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-finds-majority-of-healthcare-consumers-conditioned-to-not-shop-around-for-the-best-price-301639506.html) say they are willing to "shop" for healthcare if pricing information is disclosed prior to services behind rendered. ### Incorporate Care Quality into Decision Making Price visibility is only one piece of the puzzle, however. Care quality also plays a significant role in long-term plan costs and member health — and, because hospital mergers have been [linked to deteriorating quality of care](https://www.nber.org/papers/w34180), cannot be overlooked during the discussion about member purchasing power. When paired with pricing data, care quality data presents a more comprehensive view of provider value. Members who are solely focused on the price tag of care can mistakenly select poor quality providers; with care quality data, they can find providers who deliver exceptional care at a fair, defensible price. Take, for example, the information presented in [the Valenz Bluebook cost and quality navigation solution](https://www.valenzhealth.com/solutions/member-experience/valenz-bluebook/). Provider options are color-coded based on value (price and care outcomes), highlighting those "green"-labeled providers linked with historically positive care outcomes. ![Valenz Bluebook Cropped](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog/Blog%20Graphics/Valenz%20Bluebook%20Cropped.png?width=800&height=329&name=Valenz%20Bluebook%20Cropped.png) With tools like this, members not only see the price discrepancies linked to hospital mergers and consolidations. They also see clear differences in value provided, supporting smarter care choices even in areas where mergers have significantly impacted the healthcare landscape. As a result, members are empowered with all the cost and quality data they need to restore their own agency in the healthcare shopping process. ### Encourage Value-Based Healthcare Choices [Value-based health systems](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/value-based-care) — which prioritize care outcomes over procedure quantities and/or price — [have been found to positively influence health outcomes](https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01020). This is of critical importance in the world of hospital mergers, where prices and profits commonly come before care quality. And, while solutions like cost and quality navigation tools can help members find value-based care choices, employers and plans must also invest in the education and incentives programming that maximize member buy-in and utilization. #### Educate and Engage Members for Smarter Decision Making In most cases, giving members access to cost and quality provider data isn't enough to motivate meaningful change in their decision-making process. Research shows that [less than 10% of patients](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/health-services/articles/10.3389/frhs.2024.1379416/) consistently use price transparency tools to review their healthcare options. Why? Many of these solutions do not offer a user-friendly experience, [contain outdated provider information](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/healthcare-ghost-networks), or are simply not top of mind for members already dealing with frustration and confusion about the healthcare experience at large. **To help members utilize these tools (and restore their purchasing power in the face of hospital mergers and consolidations), employers must make sure to incorporate education and engagement programs into the health plan design.** For example, consider the Valenz Bluebook solution: Education campaigns offer comprehensive training for members, showing them how to use the tool to select high-value, low-cost care. Personalized communication campaigns keep the tool top of mind, encouraging members to consistently use Valenz Bluebook throughout their care journey to maximize care value and cost savings. As a result, Valenz delivers above-industry-average member engagement rates, such as [the 30.4% average engagement rate](https://www.valenzhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Valenz-BluebookSharedSavings-CaseStudy-021026.pdf) experienced by one employer in the Southeast. Discover how engagement strategies helped one employer boost member utilization for **a 7x program ROI.**  [Read More](https://www.valenzhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Valenz-BluebookSharedSavings-CaseStudy-021026.pdf) #### Embed Financial Incentives into Healthcare Purchasing Decisions According to a 2023 study by McKinsey, [33–52% of consumers](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/how-price-transparency-could-affect-us-healthcare-markets) are willing to switch healthcare providers in exchange for cash rebates of $25–$100 — a behavior trend that can significantly help health plans reduce their overall spend as hospitals and providers continue to increase their prices. Typically, there are two ways for employers to build incentives into their health plan designs: pre-care discounts and post-care rewards. Programs like [Valenz Variable Copay](https://www.valenzhealth.com/solutions/plan-performance/variable-copay/) can help members go beyond simple price transparency to demonstrate the immediate cost savings that can be achieved by choosing high-value providers. Using independent cost and quality data, [our variable copay program](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/variable-co-pays) establishes procedure-level copays based on value delivered. By highlighting the lower copays associated with high-value care options, the program incentivizes members to choose those low-cost options, regardless of network arrangements — delivering an average savings of 7–12% for employers. ![VCP - updated](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog/Blog%20Graphics/VCP%20-%20updated.png?width=800&height=488&name=VCP%20-%20updated.png) Equally important are post-care incentives, such as rewards for choosing high-value providers. These are the "direct" cash rewards cited in the McKinsey study — incentives that remind members of the smart care choices they have made and reinforcing similar choices in the future. At Valenz, we call this our "Go Green to Get Green" program. ![valenz-bluebook-rewards](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog/Blog%20Graphics/valenz-bluebook-rewards.jpg?width=1024&height=577&name=valenz-bluebook-rewards.jpg)  As part of the Valenz Bluebook Engagement Rewards feature, members who select and obtain care from high-value ("green"-labeled) providers via our navigation platform receive rewards in the form of check, HSA/HRA contributions, and or wellness points. Depending on plan design, these rewards are issued in amounts of $25 to $1,500, motivating members to continue using the Valenz Bluebook platform in the future — and shaping long-term shopping behavior that puts the purchasing power back in the hands of health plan members. Valenz Bluebook delivers **an average $1,500 savings per procedure** when members choose high-value providers via the cost and quality navigation solution.  ## Optimize Healthcare Purchasing Strategies with Vālenz Health® Barring increased intervention from the federal government, hospital consolidations and mergers are likely to become even more frequent as industry costs and financial pressures continue to rise. These scenarios will place ever more financial pressures on members affected by those mergers — Americans who are already frustrated with the rising cost of healthcare in their communities. The future of health plan strategy, therefore, lies in giving those members the tools and support they need to take back their purchasing power and make smarter, cost-efficient care decisions. Whether you're an employer, broker, or TPA, ask yourself the following questions when evaluating your plan design: - Does our benefit design **actively** reward members for choosing higher-value providers? - Are we evaluating **the actual cost of care**, or simply relying on negotiated network discounts as our metric of savings? The answers to these questions will direct your next steps in creating a strategy to restore purchasing power to employers and members — in turn, supporting access to high-quality care and a reduction in overall plan spend. Here at Valenz, we are dedicated to empowering employers and members to navigate the healthcare experience with confidence. That means giving them the cost and quality information needed to understand the current state of the industry, as well as the solutions required to turn those insights into action and successfully navigate the care ecosystem. Our suite of comprehensive, connected [Member Experience solutions](https://www.valenzhealth.com/solutions/member-experience/) offer all the features to help health plan members access the high-value care they deserve, even when local hospital consolidations and mergers make those options difficult to identify. To see how those solutions can impact your health plan performance — and shape cost-efficient decision making by plan members — connect with one of our team members today. ### Connect With Us to Learn More ![Christie LaGrange](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Headshots/Christie%20LaGrange%202%20-%20Copy.png?width=48&height=48&name=Christie%20LaGrange%202%20-%20Copy.png) [Christie LaGrange](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/author/christie-lagrange) A seasoned healthcare professional with expertise in client success, strategic partnerships, and employer healthcare navigation, Christie LaGrange has years of leadership experience across both Healthcare Bluebook and Valenz, most recently as the Valenz EVP of Client Success. She is currently the EVP and General Manager of Valenz Bluebook. Christie holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. ## Related Articles [![A young woman sits on a sofa while using a healthcare navigation app on her phone. ](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hubfs/Blog/AdobeStock_633825987-1.jpeg)](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/understanding-healthcare-navigation) ### [Understanding Healthcare Navigation: Proactive Member Engagement for Lower Costs and Better Care Outcomes](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/understanding-healthcare-navigation) TL;DR: Healthcare Navigation Turns Member Confusion Into Informed Care Choices In the increasingly complex American healthcare system, getting insurance coverage is only half the battle for plan members. Accessing that care in a cost-effective and informed way is another matter entirely. [Christie LaGrange](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/author/christie-lagrange) November 10, 2026 [![](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/hubfs/Blog/AdobeStock_541932275-1.jpeg)](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/price-transparency-in-healthcare) ### [How Transparency in Healthcare Shapes Patient Choices to Deliver High-Value Care](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/price-transparency-in-healthcare) [Christie LaGrange](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/author/christie-lagrange) October 30, 2026 Share ## In this article - [How Hospital Mergers and Consolidations Impact Employer Healthcare Costs & Member Care Outcomes](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#effects-of-mergers) - [How Employers Can Help Restore Employee Healthcare Purchasing Power](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#employer-strategies) - [Support Price Transparency and Navigation](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#price-transparency-navigation) - [Incorporate Care Quality into Decision Making](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#care-quality-data) - [Encourage Value-Based Healthcare Choices](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#value-based-healthcare) - [Optimize Healthcare Purchasing Strategies with Vālenz Health®](https://blog.valenzhealth.com/restoring-purchasing-power-hospital-mergers#get-started-with-valenz) In this article How Hospital Mergers and Consolidations Impact Employer Healthcare Costs & Member Care Outcomes How Employers Can Help Restore Employee Healthcare Purchasing Power     Support Price Transparency and Navigation     Incorporate Care Quality into Decision Making     Encourage Value-Based Healthcare Choices Optimize Healthcare Purchasing Strategies with Vālenz Health® Ready to Simplify Self-Insurance? ## Your Journey Starts Here Connect with a Valenz team member to explore the difference our solutions can make for you. ![Vālenz Health](https://www.valenzhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/logo.svg) [![Youtube](https://www.valenzhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Icon-Youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/@valenzhealth) [![Linkedin](https://www.valenzhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Icon-Linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/valenz/) [Login](https://www.valenzhealth.com/user-login/) [Help Center](https://support.valenzhealth.com/hc/en-us) [Trust Center](https://trust.valenzhealth.com/) [Privacy Policy](https://www.valenzhealth.com/privacy-policy/) Cookie Settings [Cookie Policy](https://www.valenzhealth.com/cookie-policy/) [California Privacy Rights Notice](https://www.valenzhealth.com/california-privacy-rights-notice/) [Terms and Conditions](https://www.valenzhealth.com/terms-and-conditions/) 1717 McKinney Ave, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75202, USA | [(866) 762-4455](tel:+18667624455) © 2026 Vālenz Health® ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "about" : [ { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Cost and Quality Transparency" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Healthcare Trends" }, { "@type" : "Thing", "name" : "Member Experience" } ], "articleBody" : "From 2002 to 2020, the United States saw more than 1,000 hospital mergers occur, with the Federal Trade Commission only intervening in about 1% of those consolidations — letting the monopolization of care in certain regions run unchecked and leaving health plans and their members stuck paying the inflated prices. A recent report from KFF details the effects on the community of Asheville, N.C., where a hospital merger resulted in significantly higher prices for residents with only one hospital available in their region. According to the think tank Rand, Mission Hospital charged prices that were 334% of prices set by Medicare — a stark comparison to the state benchmark of 280% of Medicare. Similar circumstances are playing out across the country, contributing to the ever-rising costs of healthcare for Americans. As hospitals continue to consolidate and merge, they have effectively reduced employer negotiating power traditionally made possible by strategic network design. As a result, today's employers need a new approach: one that strengthens purchasing power through member-focused health plan design. Below, we'll explain how empowering health plan members to make high-value care decisions can fight back against modern hospital consolidations to restore purchasing power and reduce healthcare costs for members and health plans alike. How Hospital Mergers and Consolidations Impact Employer Healthcare Costs & Member Care Outcomes PwC estimates that the commercial healthcare cost trend is expected to rise by 9% in 2027, with Mercer estimating that average costs for employer-sponsored healthcare will hit more than $18,000 per employee. Many industry factors play into this increase, including expensive gene and cell therapies, pricey prescription medication, and lapsed government subsidies. But an equally important reason is the increase in American hospital mergers and consolidations over the last few decades, largely due to the financial challenges of the modern healthcare system and their effects on small, independent hospitals. In attempting to solve those financial challenges through buyouts and mergers, healthcare facilities are often simply shifting those costs to consumers. A 2025 study of more than 200 hospital mergers revealed that prices increased by 12.9% six years after an acquisition occurred. But hospital mergers don't just impact how much patients and insurers pay for actual services delivered. Higher hospital prices deployed on a large scale also lead to higher overall healthcare prices for insurers and payers — many of whom pass those higher costs onto members via additional premium increases. A 2025 study of more than 200 hospital mergers revealed that prices increased by 12.9% six years after an acquisition occurred. A 2024 study by the University of Chicago found that merger-driven increases in hospital prices are passed through on almost a dollar-to-dollar basis into health spending and, in turn, insurance premiums. For example, a 1% increase in healthcare prices lowered both payroll and employment at firms outside the health sector by approximately 0.4%. These inflated prices only tell part of the story. A 2025 study of nearly 150 high-concentration hospital mergers also found a reduction in patient volume, employment, and wages, as well as deteriorating quality of care, including higher patient mortality. Low-quality healthcare can exacerbate existing healthcare conditions, leading to higher plan spend over time and a negative feedback loop that's increasingly hard for employers and employees to address without significant plan redesign. How Employers Can Help Restore Employee Healthcare Purchasing Power The good news: Today's employers and employees are not helpless when it comes to the price pressures of hospital mergers and consolidations. Many solutions — including those offered by Vālenz Health® — can give members back their purchasing power and decision-making leverage. Supported by tools that actively educate and guide them to select low-cost, high-quality care, members can better avoid the higher prices from mergers and consolidations in favor of facilities that provide high-value care at a reasonable cost. Employers can play a significant role in making this happen through strategic plan design, including features that support cost and quality visibility, member education, and rewards for high-value care choices. Support Price Transparency and Navigation In a 2025 study of national insurer rates, prices for common medical procedures varied by 50% to more than 200%, with a minimal link between price and quality. In fact, hospitals with the highest price markups for elective surgeries have actually been found to deliver worse outcomes for patients. Unfortunately, many health plan members are unaware of these differences — but not for a lack of interest. While 58% of Americans say they are willing to \"shop\" for healthcare if pricing information is disclosed prior to services behind rendered, many health plans fail to deliver the digital tools needed to successfully demonstrate the differences in pricing among facilities and providers. This becomes even more critical in regions affected by hospital mergers, where members may be completely unaware of cheaper options available outside of major medical facilities. However, when members are provided with intuitive price transparency and navigation tools, they can more easily identify these differences — and choose the care options that are more fairly priced than those offered by facilities that have undergone mergers and consolidations. According to an AKASA study, 58% of Americans say they are willing to \"shop\" for healthcare if pricing information is disclosed prior to services behind rendered. Incorporate Care Quality into Decision Making Price visibility is only one piece of the puzzle, however. Care quality also plays a significant role in long-term plan costs and member health — and, because hospital mergers have been linked to deteriorating quality of care, cannot be overlooked during the discussion about member purchasing power. When paired with pricing data, care quality data presents a more comprehensive view of provider value. Members who are solely focused on the price tag of care can mistakenly select poor quality providers; with care quality data, they can find providers who deliver exceptional care at a fair, defensible price. Take, for example, the information presented in the Valenz Bluebook cost and quality navigation solution. Provider options are color-coded based on value (price and care outcomes), highlighting those \"green\"-labeled providers linked with historically positive care outcomes. With tools like this, members not only see the price discrepancies linked to hospital mergers and consolidations. They also see clear differences in value provided, supporting smarter care choices even in areas where mergers have significantly impacted the healthcare landscape. As a result, members are empowered with all the cost and quality data they need to restore their own agency in the healthcare shopping process. Encourage Value-Based Healthcare Choices Value-based health systems — which prioritize care outcomes over procedure quantities and/or price — have been found to positively influence health outcomes. This is of critical importance in the world of hospital mergers, where prices and profits commonly come before care quality. And, while solutions like cost and quality navigation tools can help members find value-based care choices, employers and plans must also invest in the education and incentives programming that maximize member buy-in and utilization. Educate and Engage Members for Smarter Decision Making In most cases, giving members access to cost and quality provider data isn't enough to motivate meaningful change in their decision-making process. Research shows that less than 10% of patients consistently use price transparency tools to review their healthcare options. Why? Many of these solutions do not offer a user-friendly experience, contain outdated provider information, or are simply not top of mind for members already dealing with frustration and confusion about the healthcare experience at large. To help members utilize these tools (and restore their purchasing power in the face of hospital mergers and consolidations), employers must make sure to incorporate education and engagement programs into the health plan design. For example, consider the Valenz Bluebook solution: Education campaigns offer comprehensive training for members, showing them how to use the tool to select high-value, low-cost care. Personalized communication campaigns keep the tool top of mind, encouraging members to consistently use Valenz Bluebook throughout their care journey to maximize care value and cost savings. As a result, Valenz delivers above-industry-average member engagement rates, such as the 30.4% average engagement rate experienced by one employer in the Southeast. Discover how engagement strategies helped one employer boost member utilization for a 7x program ROI. Read More Embed Financial Incentives into Healthcare Purchasing Decisions According to a 2023 study by McKinsey, 33–52% of consumers are willing to switch healthcare providers in exchange for cash rebates of $25–$100 — a behavior trend that can significantly help health plans reduce their overall spend as hospitals and providers continue to increase their prices. Typically, there are two ways for employers to build incentives into their health plan designs: pre-care discounts and post-care rewards. Programs like Valenz Variable Copay can help members go beyond simple price transparency to demonstrate the immediate cost savings that can be achieved by choosing high-value providers. Using independent cost and quality data, our variable copay program establishes procedure-level copays based on value delivered. By highlighting the lower copays associated with high-value care options, the program incentivizes members to choose those low-cost options, regardless of network arrangements — delivering an average savings of 7–12% for employers. Equally important are post-care incentives, such as rewards for choosing high-value providers. These are the \"direct\" cash rewards cited in the McKinsey study — incentives that remind members of the smart care choices they have made and reinforcing similar choices in the future. At Valenz, we call this our \"Go Green to Get Green\" program. As part of the Valenz Bluebook Engagement Rewards feature, members who select and obtain care from high-value (\"green\"-labeled) providers via our navigation platform receive rewards in the form of check, HSA/HRA contributions, and or wellness points. Depending on plan design, these rewards are issued in amounts of $25 to $1,500, motivating members to continue using the Valenz Bluebook platform in the future — and shaping long-term shopping behavior that puts the purchasing power back in the hands of health plan members. Valenz Bluebook delivers an average $1,500 savings per procedure when members choose high-value providers via the cost and quality navigation solution. Optimize Healthcare Purchasing Strategies with Vālenz Health® Barring increased intervention from the federal government, hospital consolidations and mergers are likely to become even more frequent as industry costs and financial pressures continue to rise. These scenarios will place ever more financial pressures on members affected by those mergers — Americans who are already frustrated with the rising cost of healthcare in their communities. The future of health plan strategy, therefore, lies in giving those members the tools and support they need to take back their purchasing power and make smarter, cost-efficient care decisions. Whether you're an employer, broker, or TPA, ask yourself the following questions when evaluating your plan design: Does our benefit design actively reward members for choosing higher-value providers? Are we evaluating the actual cost of care, or simply relying on negotiated network discounts as our metric of savings? The answers to these questions will direct your next steps in creating a strategy to restore purchasing power to employers and members — in turn, supporting access to high-quality care and a reduction in overall plan spend. Here at Valenz, we are dedicated to empowering employers and members to navigate the healthcare experience with confidence. That means giving them the cost and quality information needed to understand the current state of the industry, as well as the solutions required to turn those insights into action and successfully navigate the care ecosystem. Our suite of comprehensive, connected Member Experience solutions offer all the features to help health plan members access the high-value care they deserve, even when local hospital consolidations and mergers make those options difficult to identify. To see how those solutions can impact your health plan performance — and shape cost-efficient decision making by plan members — connect with one of our team members today. 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