Employee health benefits are the healthcare-related coverage, programs, and services an employer offers as part of total compensation. Average employer-sponsored premiums reached $9,325 for single coverage and $26,993 for family coverage in 2025, per KFF's 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. Family premiums have risen 26% over the past five years alone, outpacing wage growth.
Employee health benefits are a cost-containment infrastructure decision, not a satisfaction perk, and framing them otherwise is a category error. Business Group on Health explicitly tracks this shift in its member surveys, noting that 24% of all employer healthcare spend went to pharmacy expenses. There’s a forecasted 11% to 12% increase for 2026, driven substantially by GLP-1 and specialty drug utilization.
On-site access drives real, measurable engagement precisely because it removes friction: employers deploying the OnMed CareStation™ see reduced absenteeism and lower downstream claims rather than by incentive-driven participation the way a traditional wellness program is measured.
When employees cannot access primary care in a timely way, conditions go undetected or unmanaged until they reach acute thresholds, generating emergency and specialist claims that are 3–12 times more expensive than early primary care. The Integrated Benefits Institute estimates that poor employee health costs U.S. businesses $575 billion annually in lost productivity alone. Employers who invest in on-site healthcare access reduce avoidable ER claims, improve chronic condition management, lower absenteeism, and create measurable return on their benefits spend.
They shouldn't be treated that way. Framed correctly, health benefits are a cost-containment strategy tied directly to claims and productivity, not an optional satisfaction add-on.
24% of all employer healthcare spend went to pharmacy expenses. Pharmacy costs were 24% of total employer health spend and is expected to grow between 11-12% in 2026, according to Business Group on Health, driven substantially by GLP-1 and specialty drug utilization.
Every term here points to the same gap in healthcare access. See how the CareStation closes it.
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