Related: 10 states paying the most for employer-sponsored health care premiums

Wouldn't it be a refreshing change to stand in front of your clients and tell them you have a solution that can lower their medical benefit costs and provide an extensive network?

So, what does that solution look like? How does it work?

Price certainty

If everyday commodities were priced the way health care is, our morning latte from our favorite coffee shop might cost between $5 and $500, and we wouldn't know the actual price until the “explanation of coffee benefit” showed in the mail weeks or months after we drank it. Thanks to coinsurance and deductibles, that's the insanity of health insurance pricing for consumers. People find out what they owe weeks after they consume care.

If you want a real win — for your clients and their employees — you should consider on-demand health insurance that makes costs clear in advance of treatment selection. Consumers who are aware of their exact cost across treatment options choose the most cost-effective option 40 percent more often than people on deductible plans do. People try physical therapy and less invasive options before, or instead of, costly surgeries. The same cost-effective selection occurs for treatment setting, too. People select outpatient clinics or ambulatory surgical centers up to 92 percent of the time over inpatient hospitals. People who are enrolled in on-demand health insurance select lower cost pharmacies 44 percent more often than members in traditional plans. These behavioral changes are helping employers curb health care costs as much as 10 percent to 20 percent. 

Smart pricing

Deductibles were introduced into plan design to create shared member burden. The hope was that people would select and consume health care more carefully when they had to cover 100 percent of their treatment costs out of the gate. But two impacts prevent that from being plausible for consumers. One, people remained in the dark about the cost of their treatment options in advance of treatment selection. Two, plans continued to increase the deductible amounts when they failed to achieve their intended result.

On-demand health insurance adds incentive and clarity. With it, people avoid the mounting deductible wall completely. They can adjust their coverage if their needs change and they have instant access to cost information across treatment options. Even better, “smart” pricing or copays give people clear economic signals they need during treatment and/or provider selection. Providers who practice more efficiently with lower costs and fewer complications are rewarded with lower copays. That gives people the opportunity to pay less for providers and treatments that are more likely to get them or keep them well.

That's the connection that's missing within deductible plans. On-demand health insurance makes the relationship between cost and quality central, not lost or hidden behind industry tools and consumer confusion. 

Encourage care access

Employees shouldn't be afraid to use their health insurance. It's supposed to be a benefit, not a punishment. Employer-sponsored health plans are part of each employee's compensation. The employee should view it as such — as a valuable benefit, there to make it easier for people to obtain the care they need, when they need it.

I know what you're thinking: A health insurance plan that encourages members to get care? How do I sell that to my clients? It's not as radical as you think.

When employees put off the care they need, employers pay the price — an estimated $530 billion due to illness-related productivity loss in 2018. A whopping 44 percent of Americans avoid the doctor when they are sick or injured because of cost alone. High-deductible plans are linked to delayed diagnosis and treatments; that becomes especially poignant when it comes to cancer prevention and treatment. Deductibles may promise cost containment, but their downstream impact is the exact opposite — people aren't getting the care they need, and many that do end up in financial trouble.

When employees are encouraged to obtain the health care they need and have the tools necessary to make informed treatment and provider selection decisions, everyone wins. It's not over-utilization that drives up cost; it's the wrong utilization. Prescription drug utilization is a good example. When people need medication, they should be encouraged, through plan design and experience, to obtain it in the right form and from the right source. With on-demand health insurance, that happens. Under our plan, 41 percent use their pharmacy benefit, compared to 29 percent under traditional plans. That means more people are getting the drugs they need and they're doing it at an average cost of $37.74 per member per month compared to the industry average of $69.83.

It's time to reevaluate the options you are presenting to your clients. Real change in employer health benefits costs requires an innovative plan design that focuses on empowering the consumer to make good treatment choices, not the same old plan wrapped in a different bow. It's time to think outside the box and embrace on-demand. 

Tony Miller is the founder and CEO of Bind On-Demand Health Insurance.