Canada (EN)
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are one of the largest drivers of healthcare spending, disability claims, absenteeism and lost productivity for employers. Yet despite significant investments in benefits programs, many employees still struggle to find the right care at the right time.
As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers are increasingly asking a critical question:
What is the real challenge: lack of benefits, or helping employees connect with the ones they already have?
That question was at the center of a joint webinar with Hinge Health and Alight, Helping employees recover faster and employers see better results. Featured speakers Jill Kleiner of Hinge Health and Andy Szymczyk of Alight explored how employers can improve outcomes by combining healthcare navigation, personalized clinical support, AI-powered guidance and benefits engagement into a more seamless employee experience.
Why musculoskeletal conditions remain a top employer challenge
MSK conditions impact millions of workers every year and create challenges that extend well beyond medical claims.
Research shows:
- More than half of U.S. adults live with a musculoskeletal condition.
- MSK conditions are a leading cause of disability and account for more than 100 million lost workdays annually.
- Healthcare costs associated with MSK conditions exceed $420 billion annually, with some estimates placing the total economic burden near $1 trillion when productivity losses are included.
Yet one of the biggest challenges isn't access to treatment. It's helping employees engage with the right support before their condition worsens.
The engagement challenge behind rising healthcare costs
When employees experience pain or mobility issues, they often face a complicated healthcare system. Many aren't sure where to start, whether care is covered or which resource best fits their needs.
As a result, employees may delay treatment or attempt to manage symptoms on their own. By the time care begins, conditions are often more severe, more expensive and more likely to affect both productivity and health outcomes.
This creates a paradox for employers. Organizations are investing in more healthcare and wellbeing resources than ever before, yet employees are frequently left to navigate those resources on their own.
Alight research highlights the scale of the challenge. According to workforce data, 56% of employees who needed healthcare did not receive it, and one-third cited cost as the reason. In addition, six in 10 employees report regretting a healthcare decision they made in the past year, suggesting many workers struggle to access the guidance needed to make confident healthcare choices.
Moving from eligibility to relevance
Historically, benefits communication focused on eligibility. Employees received information during enrollment or periodic campaigns, but awareness alone rarely changes behavior - people engage when support feels timely, personal and immediately useful, such as managing new pain, navigating a disability claim or evaluating care options during a major life event.
Employee expectations are changing as well. Alight research found that 65% of employees are interested in personalized communications based on their health and financial data.
That's why the conversation needs to shift from:
Who qualifies for this program?
to
Who needs support right now, and how can we make the next step easier?
When healthcare navigation, data and AI-powered insights work together, employers can proactively connect employees with appropriate resources before conditions worsen or costs escalate.
How AI helps employees access care sooner
Artificial intelligence is helping employers reduce friction across the healthcare journey.
Used responsibly to complement, rather than replace, clinical expertise and human support, AI can help:
- Identify employees who may need support
- Personalize outreach based on individual circumstances
- Simplify benefits navigation
- Connect employees with appropriate care more quickly
During the webinar, Alight and Hinge Health discussed how integrating navigation with personalized clinical care can dramatically improve access to treatment, including reducing time to clinical intervention by as much as 90%.
The combination of technology and human support can also deliver measurable results. Alight's Healthcare Navigation solution recently received independent validation from the Validation Institute based on a review of more than 713,000 medical cases. The analysis found $296 million in verified healthcare savings and average gross savings of 21.3%, with even greater savings when employees engaged before selecting a provider.
How employers should measure success
Leading employers are evaluating healthcare investments across the entire employee journey.
Key questions include:
- Was the employee reached at the right moment?
- Did they engage with available support?
- How quickly did they access care?
- Did outcomes improve?
AI-powered analytics can help identify barriers to care, uncover disengagement points and reveal opportunities to improve the overall experience. This shifts the measure of success from the number of programs offered to whether employees receive the right support early enough to improve outcomes.
Frequently asked questions about musculoskeletal care
Why do employees delay musculoskeletal treatment?
Many employees are unsure where to start, what their benefits cover or which program best fits their needs. Without clear guidance, treatment is often delayed until conditions become more serious.
How can employers improve musculoskeletal care outcomes?
Employers can improve outcomes by combining healthcare navigation, personalized engagement and clinical support to help employees access care earlier and make more informed healthcare decisions.
What role does AI play in healthcare navigation?
AI can help simplify benefits decisions, personalize outreach and connect employees with appropriate care more efficiently while keeping human support available when needed.
Watch the webinar from Hinge Health and Alight.
Learn how healthcare navigation, AI-driven engagement and personalized musculoskeletal care can help improve outcomes while maximizing healthcare investments.
Watch our on-demand webinar, Helping employees recover faster and employers see better results, featuring experts from Alight and Hinge Health.
