In this episode of Health Action Briefing, Anne Blum talks with Norm Volsky of Simplify Health about the "benefits black hole": the space between what employers invest in their health plans and what employees actually find, use, and value. Norm breaks down the short- and long-term costs of disengagement — from negative ROI in a single plan year to compounding clinical risk when employees avoid or delay care.
The conversation covers what the best employers are doing right now: steering employees to high-value sites of care through centers-of-excellence models, removing the myth that cost equals quality, and — most importantly — consolidating the communication chaos that leaves employees tuning out entirely.
Norm's bottom line for benefits leaders: before you evaluate your vendors, evaluate whether your employees can find what you've already built. Awareness and communication gaps are the first problem to solve.
