Repeal? Replace? It’s anyone’s guess. The one thing we can becertain about following this election is more changes are coming tohealth care and, as usual, employers will need to adapt. Butregardless of what happens in Congress, what President Trump orSpeaker Ryan propose, or who is the new head of CMS, my money is onsome things staying exactly the same. Our employer-based healthcare system is not going away. I speak to a lot of health careleaders every day, and getting out my crystal ball, here are fivehealth care trends I don’t see abating any time soon. With theright strategies, benefits professionals can stay ahead of thecurve in trying to manage costs and quality in these turbulenttimes.

1. High deductible plans and cost sharing are here to stay. Ifanything, the newleadership’s plans place even greater reliance on HSAs. Most ofus have already been getting our employees used to cost sharing,and this trend is expected to continue and even accelerate. Butjust offering high deductible plans is equivalent to throwing youremployees into the deep end of the pool; several studies showemployees don’t often shop around and do often skip neededcare. Our own research last summer found that 42 percent of employees believe they don’t have the informationthey need to make important medical decisions. We want them tospend their money (and yours) wisely and go to high qualityproviders to get the care they need (and not care they don’t need).To accomplish this, savvy employers must continue to turn tostrategies like partnerships with organizations that offer consumereducation and navigation. We want our employees shopping aroundbased on cost, but also based on quality.

2. Transparency will be huge. It has been a cornerstone ofPresident-elect Trump’s health care policy platform since thebeginning. And yet, we know from studies that very fewemployees who are offered price transparency tools actually usethem. That is because price information alone is befuddling; itdoesn’t help employees understand what care they need or who is theright doctor given their condition; and they’ve never been engagedconsumers before. For these reasons, savvy benefits professionalswill pair transparency tools with other tools or coaches who serveas a medical ally and help with consumer navigation.