As 2027 comes into view, CFOs are looking at a 12% rise in healthcare benefits for their employees. That’s $19,000 per person and Dr. Jon Van Der Veer, CEO of Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care explains why Direct Primary Care (DPC) as a benefit offsets those costs. For those looking to stop both the bleeding, while increasing care simultaneously this is your show!

It sounds counterintuitive, explains Van Der Veer. Why would adding DPC as an employee benefit actually offset healthcare premiums for employers? Van Der Veer explains how even though many employees technically have insurance, they’re still “functionally uninsured” which is one cause behind rising chronic conditions, bigger medical bills, and climbing premiums. And that doesn’t even include the rarely calculated cost of sickness and missed work.

Hidden Cost of Functionally Uninsured

With projected healthcare costs reaching an average of $19,000 per person by 2027—driven by recurring annual double-digit renewal increases—employers face an unprecedented financial squeeze. Dr. Jon Van Der Veer, CEO of Hy-Vee Health Exemplar Care, points out that while surging premiums technically count toward employee compensation, workers rarely see the benefit. Instead, two decades of wage stagnation have directly resulted from business capital continually being shunted away from compensation to pay for insurance premiums.

Compounding the problem, high deductibles ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 leave workers struggling to cover routine medical expenses out of pocket, especially given that a majority of Americans lack $1,000 in savings for unexpected medical costs. “So you have insurance, you have a 2,000, 5,000, $7,000 deductible, and so the $19,000 that your employer has put down for your premiums still doesn’t get you anything until you chew through that out-of-pocket,” Van Der Veer explained. This dynamic leaves workers “functionally uninsured,” prompting them to avoid early care for minor conditions like respiratory infections until they escalate into catastrophic, multi-thousand-dollar emergency room visits.

Direct Primary Care as a Strategic Business Pillar

To control erratic spend, Van Der Veer advocates for Direct Primary Care (DPC), a membership model providing unlimited access to primary, urgent, and preventive care without copays or extra fees for on-site labs and X-rays. DPC transforms unpredictable variable claims into a fixed monthly expense while managing chronic illnesses, mental health, and absenteeism.

“From day one, I’ve always said if you change the financial model, you change the care model,” Van Der Veer noted, emphasizing that operating outside standard insurance enables longer appointments and proactive health management.

Rather than passively accepting annual broker rate increases, Van Der Veer urges executive leadership teams to treat healthcare management as an active, year-round business strategy. “When you look at your P&L, I hate to disagree, but you’re in the business of healthcare whether you want to be or not,” he stated, advising leaders to explore direct contracting to protect both their operational bottom line and workforce productivity.