Employers cannot eliminate healthcare inflation, nor can they control every healthcare decision made by employees and their families. They can, however, influence network design, benefit structures, and healthcare access strategies.

A healthcare model that combines accessible primary care, continuity, behavioral health integration, developmental services, care coordination, and after-hours availability creates a lower-friction entry point into the healthcare system. Such models help ensure that healthcare resources are used in the most appropriate and efficient manner.

In many cases, the most important healthcare decision is not what treatment is delivered, but where care begins. Employers seeking better healthcare value should pay closer attention to the infrastructure that supports those decisions every day.

AAP Medical Home; AAP Nonemergency Acute Care; Health Affairs Continuity Study