Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
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Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
- Employers must tailor healthcare plans to diverse employee needs based on location and lifestyle for better outcomes.
- Listening to employees drives trust, improves benefits, and sparks innovation in healthcare design.
- Combining AI with human care boosts accuracy and compassion, while rewarding healthy behaviors benefits everyone.
As the workplace becomes increasingly flexible and distributed, employers face a clear challenge. How can they offer healthcare that meets the real needs of a workforce spread across different regions, cultures, and lifestyles?
According to Robert E. Andrews, CEO of the Health Transformation Alliance and former U.S. Congressman who helped author the Affordable Care Act, the answer lies in personalization and intentional design.
Andrews joined The Allwork.Space Future of Work® Podcast to bring a deep understanding of healthcare reform and discuss what drives business results. His perspective makes one thing clear: healthcare that works for employees also works for companies.
Location Matters, and One Size Does Not Fit All
Employers often offer a single health plan for their entire workforce, but Andrews believes this approach falls short in today’s diverse workplace. A person living in a Manhattan high-rise does not face the same healthcare access issues as someone working remotely in rural Iowa.
Instead of defaulting to one general model, Andrews recommends designing plans that reflect real-world conditions. That might mean investing more in virtual care options for rural workers, or making it easier for urban employees to walk into a nearby clinic. The goal is always to meet people where they are.
Listening Creates Better Culture and Better Plans
The most effective benefit strategies begin with listening, as employers who engage their workforce, gather feedback, and use it to inform decisions create a stronger culture of trust and loyalty.
According to Andrews, the most effective problem-solving always begins with listening to the needs of your customer — and in the workplace, that customer is your employee.
This kind of listening builds strong relationships and allows companies to negotiate better outcomes with carriers, pharmacy benefit managers, and provider networks. It also opens the door to innovation.
Andrews compares it to shopping for groceries: you figure out what you want, you look for it, and if it is not available, you go somewhere else.
Healthier People Are More Productive and More Loyal
Companies often overlook the financial benefits of prevention and wellbeing. But Andrews makes the case that investing in better healthcare today leads to real business results tomorrow.
He notes that replacing an employee often costs twice their salary, which means keeping workers healthy and fulfilled can make a direct impact on the bottom line.
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“You spend a dollar to diversified primary care, you get $5 back in retaining people,” he said during the podcast.
Better care leads to fewer sick days, less turnover, and stronger employee engagement. These outcomes matter just as much to CFOs as they do to HR leaders.
The Role of Personal Responsibility and the Limits of the System
Andrews supports benefit models that reward healthy behavior, as long as they respect legal boundaries and personal dignity. He sees parallels with car insurance, where drivers who avoid accidents pay less.
“The person who makes that effort, takes advantage of those resources, should take home more pay than somebody who doesn’t,” he said.
Still, he cautions against overreach. Employers should not dictate lifestyle choices but can provide support, incentives, and access to quality care.
Technology Should Support Human Care
Artificial intelligence and automation are transforming healthcare, but Andrews is clear about the role technology should play. He sees value in AI that reduces administrative burden and speeds up diagnostics, but he draws a line at systems that use AI to deny care or eliminate human oversight.
“When the radiology study is read by the AI and a human, they’re wrong less than 1% of the time,” Andrews says. “That’s what we’re looking to do.”
The future, in his view, belongs to systems where smart tools support compassionate, skilled providers. Employers can help steer that future by choosing partners who align with those values.
Empathy Builds Loyalty
Healthcare is often most visible to employees in life’s most vulnerable moments. Whether it is a difficult diagnosis, a high-risk pregnancy, or a mental health struggle, the way a company responds leaves a lasting impression.
Andrews recalls a moment when he told a new employee to take the day off and go to a Yankees game with his sons. It was a small gesture, but it reflected something larger. When people feel seen and supported, they stay. They show up with purpose and loyalty.
Andrews concludes that it’s all about recruitment and retention, and recruitment and retention is increasingly tied to whether people can build their work around their families.
Leading With Values
Employers do not have to settle for the cheapest option or the fastest vendor. They can create benefit plans that support better lives, longer careers, and a deeper sense of connection. Andrews believes that healthcare is one of the clearest signals of what a company stands for.
When employees believe their company is doing right by them, they repay that investment many times over.
