Thinking of selling into the employer? You probably shouldn't

My co-author for this post is Peter Hames, Co-Founder of Big Health.

A decade ago, any sensible founder of a digital health company in the U.S. would have considered targeting the self-funded employer market. It would have been an oversight not to.

It’s easy to understand why. Faster moving than health plans, with sizable populations and healthcare spend that can run into the billions, they were attractive buyers. Employers were hungry for solutions that could potentially bend the cost curve in health care, given rising rates of medical inflation. But, unlike health plans, they were motivated by more than just minimizing their “loss ratio” of paid-out claims - they wanted to attract the best employees with eye-catching, competitive benefits, and proactively keep those employees happy, healthy and productive.