Why Your Renewal Feels Broken

If you're a Michigan employer staring down another renewal season, you already know the story. Premiums are up again. Your broker sends over a stack of options that all look expensive. You're told this is just how healthcare works now. You nod, make some cuts you hate making, and wonder if you're the only one who can't seem to get this under control.

You're not.

The truth is, the system isn't broken. It's working exactly as designed, just not for you.

The Game You Didn't Know You Were Playing

Every year, the renewal process feels a little more frustrating. A little more confusing. And here's why: there are powerful incentives at play that have nothing to do with what's best for your company or your people.

Carriers make more when premiums go up.

Their revenue is often tied directly to claim costs. When healthcare gets more expensive, they pass those costs to you and take their cut along the way. There's no incentive to help you spend less.

Health systems control where your employees go and what they pay.

Large hospital networks have enormous negotiating power. They set prices, limit access to alternatives, and make it nearly impossible for your employees to know what care actually costs until the bill arrives. Your team ends up using high-cost providers because they don't know there's a better option.

Traditional brokers often get paid more when your premiums rise.

Most brokers earn commissions based on a percentage of your premium. When your costs go up, so does their paycheck. It's not personal, it's just how the model works. And it means very few brokers are incentivized to actually reduce your spend.

This isn't a conspiracy. It's just a misalignment of incentives. And it's why year after year, you're left feeling like you're the problem when really, the system is.

What Changes When You See It Clearly

Once you understand how the pieces fit together, something shifts. You stop blaming yourself. You stop accepting "this is just how it is." And you start asking different questions:

What are we actually paying for?Where is the money going?Are there better ways to design our plan?

Those questions matter because they lead somewhere.

When you work with someone who shows you the actual data about what your employees are spending and where they're getting care, you can make informed decisions.

When your plan is designed to reward good choices instead of just shifting costs, people start using it differently.

When you have direct relationships with quality providers instead of going through layers of markup, the math starts to work in your favor.

And when your employees have someone in their corner to help them figure out where to go and what things actually cost, they stop guessing. They make better decisions because they have better information.

That's what SymplCare does. Our team helps your employees do the research, compare their options, and find high-quality care at a fair price.

Not because we're trying to restrict access, but because we're trying to remove the barriers that make healthcare so hard to use well.

Renewal season doesn't have to feel like you're trapped between bad options.

When the incentives are actually aligned with your goals, the whole thing works differently. You can improve benefits and lower costs at the same time.

It's not about finding a magic solution. It's about working with people who aren't profiting from your premiums going up.

If this renewal season has you feeling stuck or frustrated, there's a reason for that. But it doesn't have to stay that way.