Benchmarking has become one of the most common tools in benefits planning.

‍

Every year, employers compare their healthcare costs, plan designs, and contribution strategies against industry averages, hoping those comparisons will point them toward better decisions.

‍

The assumption is simple: if you know what everyone else is doing, you’ll know what you should do next.

But let's ask a simple question:  

‍

Raise your hand if you're happy with how much you pay for healthcare.

We'll wait…

Exactly.

‍

Very few employers are satisfied with rising healthcare costs, annual renewal increases, and the growing financial burden placed on both organizations and employees.

‍

So why benchmark against a market that’s struggling with the very same challenges.
‍

If the system is producing higher costs and lower value, matching the system isn’t the goal. Building something better is.

That's the problem with relying too heavily on benchmarks.

‍

Healthcare costs continue to rise year after year. Employers across nearly every industry are facing higher medical expenses, growing pharmacy costs, and increasing pressure during renewal. If the entire market is moving in the wrong direction, being "better than average" may not be much of an accomplishment. ‍

‍

After all, the fastest turtle is still slow.

‍

That's why many organizations are beginning to rethink how they use data. Instead of asking, "How do we compare?" they're asking, "What's driving our results?".  

‍

That distinction matters.

‍

Two employers can report similar healthcare costs for very different reasons. One may be investing in preventive care and chronic condition management that improves long-term outcomes. Another may appear to perform well on paper because employees are delaying care or avoiding treatment altogether.

‍

The benchmark alone doesn't tell that story.

‍

What matters is understanding what’s happening inside your own health plan. Your population, utilization patterns, pharmacy spend, and vendor performance reveal opportunities that industry averages simply can’t. Data becomes more valuable when it helps explain performance, not just compare it.

As renewal season approaches, employers have an opportunity to look beyond market benchmarks and focus on the metrics that matter most to their organization. Cost trends, pharmacy utilization, chronic condition prevalence, engagement levels, and vendor performance often provide more actionable insights than a percentile ranking ever could.

Benchmarking still has value. It provides context.

‍

But context isn't the same as strategy.

The organizations creating meaningful change aren’t trying to be average. They’re using data to understand their unique challenges, improve the way healthcare is purchased, and build a health plan that delivers greater value over time. ‍

‍

The goal isn't to outperform a broken benchmark. ‍

‍

The goal is to build a better health plan.

‍