Traditional health insurance is broken. Most business owners already know this — but what can you actually do about it?
For many companies, health insurance feels more like a prison than a benefit. It’s often the second largest expense after payroll, and renewal season usually brings another tough choice:
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Absorb another 10%+ premium increase (if you’re lucky).
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Shift the cost to employees (already stretched thin by rising living costs).
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Cut back benefits to keep costs in check.
None of these options are sustainable.
At the same time, healthcare costs continue to climb, hitting 17.6% of U.S. GDP in 2023 (AMA). Employees notice too — 88% ranked health benefits as “very important” or “extremely important” in a SHRM survey, outranking retirement, leave, and flexible work policies.
If your benefits aren’t seen as a true advantage, you risk losing great people to employers who offer better options.
Why the Old Way Doesn’t Work
Too often, businesses fall into the same renewal routine:
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Same carriers
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Same plan designs
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Same risk pools
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Same funding strategies
This “one-size-fits-all” mindset leaves little room for control. But today, employers — even small and mid-sized businesses — have more options than ever.
New Options for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses
Traditionally, only large companies could go self-insured. Everyone else stayed fully insured, stuck with rising premiums.
But now, alternative funding strategies are available for smaller employers too. These give businesses greater control over their claims — which make up 60–70% of total healthcare spend.
That means smarter plan design can directly reduce your biggest cost driver.
Balancing Cost & Care
As an employer, your goal is to manage costs without hurting your team. Cutting benefits backfires, but so does overspending on a plan that doesn’t work.
The real solution is to customize your health program around your business — one that:
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Controls unnecessary costs
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Supports employee satisfaction
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Stays sustainable year after year
How Starke Helps
At Starke, we partner with businesses to design health insurance programs that truly fit. We bring options to the table that keep your people happy while protecting your bottom line.
Our goal is simple: help you build a program that’s financially sustainable, customizable, and effective as a recruitment and retention tool.
If you’re ready to rethink your approach in 2025, let’s talk.
Article written by: William Van Hooser
