Healthcare costs are spiralling, with the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage reaching $26,993 in 2025—a 6% increase year-on-year. Employees are paying an average of $6,850, outpacing wage growth and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). With inflation and high-cost therapies like GLP-1 drugs driving this surge, employers and insurers face mounting financial and competitive pressure.
Digital health engagement platforms offer a viable solution. By improving prevention, adherence, and care navigation at scale, these platforms can reduce unnecessary spending and enhance health outcomes.
dacadoo’s Digital Health Engagement Platform (DHEP) is at the forefront, demonstrating measurable impact on both costs and population health.
The cost crisis and its implications
Commercial healthcare costs are projected to rise 9–10% in 2026, according to McKinsey. For employers, relying on benefit cuts or cost-shifting could lead to talent attrition, while insurers face margin pressure from increased medical loss ratios. Short-term austerity measures may relieve immediate financial strain but can worsen long-term chronic disease costs and member dissatisfaction.
Understanding the main drivers of cost inflation
Three factors are pushing premiums higher:
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Utilisation rebound: Post-pandemic care backlogs and untreated chronic conditions are driving more frequent and higher-cost claims.
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Pharmacy impact: GLP-1 medications for weight management and diabetes have surged in use, reshaping pharmacy budgets and forcing employers to weigh benefits against financial risk.
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Service and labour inflation: Wage growth for clinical and support staff increases hospital and clinic contract costs, contributing to higher renewal rates.
Key strategies for employers, insurers, and providers
To control costs, organisations must embrace engagement-driven strategies rather than merely adjusting plan benefits.
Employers
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Combine GLP-1 coverage with digital coaching in nutrition, activity, and mental wellbeing to ensure therapy adherence and capture outcomes data.
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Direct members to virtual and primary care to reduce costly emergency visits.
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Measure ROI beyond premiums, linking health improvements to reductions in absenteeism and presenteeism.
Insurers
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Use digital engagement to lower preventable claims and improve adherence for chronic conditions.
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Implement strict GLP-1 eligibility and step-therapy protocols alongside digital weight-management pathways.
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Protect renewals with dashboards that show health improvements and margin preservation.
Providers
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Extend care management digitally to reduce no-shows and prevent costly complications.
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Standardise pre- and post-procedure protocols to shorten hospital stays and reduce readmissions.
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Support value-based care with data-driven metrics for better outcomes and stronger payer contracts.
dacadoo’s DHEP in action
dacadoo’s Digital Health Engagement Platform (DHEP) turns prevention, adherence, and care navigation into measurable cost savings.
The platform drives behaviour change at scale through gamified challenges and micro-nudges, helping users improve activity, nutrition, sleep, and mental health. It also provides structured, guided journeys for high-cost conditions, including GLP-1 therapies, ensuring patients achieve maximum adherence and therapeutic outcomes.
Using the dacadoo Health Score, employers and insurers can segment populations, prioritise interventions, and monitor improvements across cohorts. The platform further offers intelligent care navigation, guiding users to appropriate and efficient care settings and reducing reliance on costly services.
Finally, DHEP delivers transparent, CFO-ready dashboards that quantify reductions in utilisation and overall spend.
By combining these capabilities, dacadoo equips employers, insurers, and providers to tackle healthcare inflation while enhancing member outcomes, providing a practical solution to the challenge of $27k family premiums.
Read the full blog from dacadoo here.
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