Be a Wise Consumer of Your Health

By Alison Myers • 10 Feb 2026 • 1 min read

Why “Wise Health Consumption” Is a Leadership Issue

Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing, least-managed line items on the P&L. Yet most organizations still approach benefits reactively after claims spike, after engagement drops, after burnout shows up as turnover. Wise health consumption flips the script.

It focuses on prevention, early action, and intelligent navigation of benefits, not just to reduce claims, but to protect productivity, morale, and retention.

The data is clear:

Preventive care can reduce downstream medical costs by up to 30% over time.
Employees who actively use preventive services are more engaged, miss fewer workdays, and stay longer.
Delayed care is one of the top drivers of high-cost claims and avoidable disability.

This is not about spending more on benefits. It’s about using what you already pay for better.

What “Wise Consumption” Looks Like in Practice

Strong HR leaders design benefits with behavior in mind, not just compliance.

That means:

Encouraging annual preventive visits (primary care, vision, dental)
Promoting early intervention for musculoskeletal pain, mental health, and chronic conditions
Making it easy for employees to understand where to go first, instead of defaulting to urgent care or the emergency room
Actively educating employees on free and low-cost services already embedded in their plans.

When employees know how to use their benefits, they make better decisions for themselves and for the organization.

Three Strategic Moves HR Leaders Can Make Now

Normalize prevention as performance protection: Frame preventive care as part of workforce resilience, not a “nice to have.”
Reduce friction, not options: Too many benefits create confusion. Clear navigation drives usage.
Measure what matters: Track preventive utilization, not just claims. Prevention is a leading indicator of future cost and stability.

The Leadership Opportunity

Healthcare is the only major business expense driven entirely by human behavior.

The same people influencing medical costs are the ones driving: