Transforming employee health and wellbeing with the Health Transformation Collaborative 

The cost of healthcare, behavioral health concerns, caregiving responsibilities, and the ever-changing landscape of employee benefits are all top of mind for benefit executives, CFOs, and HR executives. In a recent study, employee well-being is the #2 initiative executives say would deliver the biggest ROI in the next two years. (source: Mercer People Risk 2022). Nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers say they are planning to make enhancements to their health and well-being offerings to support attraction and retention and better meet employee needs, while over a quarter (25%) made enhancements within the past two years.

With mental health issues costing US employers up to $47.6 billion a year , and stress-related absenteeism on the rise, now is the time to invest in effective health and wellness solutions for your employees. In fact, every $1 invested in staff mental health yields a return of $4 on average according to the World Health Organization.

The good news is many digital solutions have proliferated in the market and are increasing access to employee mental health support and improving mental health outcomes. However, with new digital solutions entering the market all the time, it can be incredibly challenging to research, select, negotiate, contract with, and implement multiple new solutions on your own.

How can you as an employer take action on employee wellbeing to address these challenges and support your workforce without inundating resources?

Mercer’s Health Transformation Collaborative (HTC) was designed to make innovation easier, while saving your company money and improving the health of your people. Gain access to a robust and effective health benefits package tailored to the unique needs of your workforce. With an ecosystem of carefully selected "best in class" providers specializing in different areas of health management, you can be confident you're providing the best possible support for your employees. The selection process is client-driven, by employers, for employers, and supported by Mercer’s market expertise and market leverage.

Through the HTC, you can take advantage of Mercer-negotiated deeply negotiated pricing, collective discounts due to our collaborative purchasing power, and unique-to-market performance and ROI guarantees. As a collaborative, the HTC negotiates as one group to save clients significant dollars with discounts. In 2022 alone, the HTC achieved savings of $4.1M for clients through our negotiating power.

Ongoing oversight ensures employers receive the highest performance from their healthcare solutions. Mercer provides consistent management of solutions, including comprehensive quarterly reporting and an annual report detailing member engagement and health outcomes achieved, performing clinical and operational assessments to ensure your partners are providing best-in-class service to your people through a detailed look at operations, member experience, and health outcomes. Oversight also includes monthly vendor status check-ins to review performance and a direct line to vendor leadership in case of escalated issues.

Mercer’s HTC clients have experienced impressive results. In collaboration, clients have successfully implemented advocacy solutions, digital navigation and wellbeing hubs, and condition-focused digital solutions, while achieving significant savings. The HTC has led to improved health outcomes, including lower A1c scores for those enrolled in diabetes management programs and reduced pain and surgery for those enrolled in musculoskeletal programs.

We know that collaboration is key to success, so we connect with you and other like-minded employers to network, share best practices, and drive the future strategy of the HTC together.