It's true, we don't know what plan designs will be. But let's look at what we do know:

Medical costs will continue to rise. There's no end in sight to the medical advancements and twice-the-rate-of-inflation-increases trend.
Out-of-pocket costs will continue to rise, too. As we move away from the ACA's "lots of mandates and lots of controls" philosophy, the only direction to go is toward "consumerism." By definition, "consumerism" means higher out-of-pocket costs. Sometimes it comes out with the obvious higher copay, coinsurance, deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. It can also come out in other plan designs.
Rx plan designs will keep shifting to push costs to members. The trend is back to double-digit rate increases, and there's no end in sight for the next decade.
Shrinking networks will become the norm. It's another way to reduce provider costs by driving more visits to a tighter network. But it comes with unique challenges. Employees will need help with guidance, provider searches, price/quality transparency, and out-of-network claims.

Where's the opportunity?

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