We understand the pressures small businesses face in today’s economic climate and we continue to be right here for you. As your local, nonprofit Health Plan, we’re committed to helping small businesses find meaningful ways to manage costs while improving the quality of care for employees.

Growing demand for health care and rising costs – especially for prescription drugs and hospital services – are driving up premiums, making it harder for employers to feel confident in their health plan decisions. But you don’t have to navigate this alone.

Here are three programs that can help your business and your team get more value from your health plan.

1. Expanding Access and Reducing Costs with Virtual Physical Therapy

Back, neck, and joint pain—also known as Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions—are among the leading drivers of rising health care costs. A convenient, cost-effective way for employees to get the care they need without unnecessary imaging, specialist visits, or time away from work is virtual physical therapy. To support traditional physical therapy, this service can be the first step in addressing MSK conditions. It does not replace your local Physical Therapist.

To learn how this program can benefit your team, download our Musculoskeletal Conditions Savings Toolkit .

2. Support That Makes a Difference: Personalized Case Management

Employees and employers alike might find managing chronic or complex health conditions to be overwhelming.  Our case management program can offer a reprieve. Univera Healthcare’s experienced case managers provide one-on-one support to help members navigate their care, coordinate treatments, and avoid unnecessary costs. Last year alone, more than 33,000 members received personalized support through this program.

To see how employees can take advantage of case management, explore our High-Cost Conditions Toolkit. 

3. Lowering Costs Without Sacrificing Care: Smarter Pharmacy Choices

With prescription drug costs continuing to rise, there are ways to help your employees make smarter, more affordable choices. Our pharmacy programs offer guidance on things such as lower cost brands, generic alternatives, biosimilars, medication management strategies and mail-order options that can all lead to significant savings.

For tips and tools to share with your team, download our Pharmacy Savings Toolkit.

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What You Can Do Today

Here are simple steps you can take right now to help control rising health care costs:

• Visit univeraforbusiness.com to download our cost-saving toolkits, which include resources and prewritten emails to share with employees.
• Share this file with your team to help them feel more in control of their health care decisions.

At Univera Healthcare, 92 cents of every premium dollar we collected in 2024 went directly to medical care for our members. We’re proud to be your partner in navigating rising health care costs and are here to support you in building a healthy workforce and a healthy business.

Rising costs and the growing demand for health care — especially for hospital services and prescription drugs — are challenging patients, doctors, businesses, health plans, and the entire health care system. These difficulties are causing higher premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs nationwide. Many of our local health care leaders are already collaborating to make care more accessible and affordable – while helping to improve outcomes for everyone.  

But who decides what you pay? From doctors and hospitals to employers and insurers – every part of the health care system plays a role. Click here to see some examples on how every part of the system shapes what you pay. 

Rising costs continue to apply pressure to small business and we remain committed to offering support through collaboration and partnership. Value-added resources are available to help small businesses find meaningful ways to improve quality of care while managing costs for employees: www.excellusforbusiness.com.