Nearly nine out of 10 employers offering healthcare and wellbeing services plan to either change vendors or enhance, add or get rid of existing solutions in the next two years, according to a survey by global consulting firm WTW performed in November.
The survey, which included responses from 232 U.S. companies who employ three million workers, found that 55% of respondents offering wellbeing programs plan to change their vendor partnerships in the coming years, while 12% already did so in 2022.
Thirty-seven percent of employers anticipate altering their mental health-focused offerings in the foreseeable future, and 24% have already made those adjustments.
Mental health offerings that could potentially be changed include clinical and pharmacy solutions and employee assistance programs. Still, mental health solutions were ranked as a top focus when considering vendor solutions followed by general wellbeing.
Of those respondents with existing digital platforms, like health information portals, 43% of employers relayed plans to change their offerings within two years, while 7% did so in 2022.
Forty-two percent who offer point solutions to improve clinical conditions (such as maternity and fertility care or diabetes and musculoskeletal disease) plan to adjust their offerings, while 24% already did so in 2022.
Over one in ten employers (12%) offering navigation and advocacy programs, such as expert medical opinions and clinical guidance, changed their vendor partner strategies in 2022, with four in ten (40%) anticipated they will make changes within two years.
“High-performing health and wellbeing vendors are now vital to employers. They have become a critical component of competitive benefit and wellbeing programs and strategic to their portfolio,” Courtney Stubblefield, senior director at WTW, said in a statement. “However, in an effort to meet the needs of their employees and improve worker health, employers are taking a close look at the value and cost savings their vendors promise. What’s more, they are ready to make changes as needed.”
