"Yeah, but our employees are different" is a response I often hear when chatting with an employer about various strategies to improve employee interaction with the health care system. I know it's easy to think that your employees are unique, but I'm here to tell you otherwise.

Your employees are not different. They are like every other employee in America who is struggling to navigate an opaque health care system without a clue as to the quality and price of the services they are purchasing. They are like every other employee in America who is coming to grips with the fact that they cannot afford to cover the health plan's out of pocket limit should a health care event happen to them. They are like every other employee in America who would like to know why they continue to be told to pay more for less. This is their reality and as much as you want to think your workforce is different, they're not. What is different is the continued growth of their out of pocket limit and the amount coming out of their paycheck every month.

Today, far too many employers continue to take a "paternal" approach to their health plan, like a parent who runs a household without rules. What you believe to be a good health plan is actually allowing consumer behavior and your health care costs to spiral out of control. Your employees have no clue how to navigate a huge PPO network where they can basically go wherever they want and spend whatever they want. What you believe is "choice" is nothing more than frustration and stress for your employees.