Driving Savings and Better Healthcare Choices with Value-Based Care
By Paul Martinez | Published May 14, 2025
The Challenge: A private enterprise client experienced a sharp rise in healthcare claims costs, an unexpected shift driven by changes in employee demographics and the emergence of high-cost claimants. The company’s leadership was committed to providing strong benefits packages; however, their healthcare spend was outpacing projections. The organization wanted a solution that would reduce costs, improve health outcomes, and offer better guidance for employees without disrupting employees’ current healthcare journeys, compromising their provider choice, or changing carriers.
The Solution: Paul Martinez, Newfront’s Executive Vice President of Total Rewards, partnered with the client to find a solution. He proposed implementing a value-based health plan designed around variable copays that reflect provider quality and cost-effectiveness. With this plan, employees gain upfront visibility into what they'll pay for care before they go to the doctor’s office. Using the plan’s app, they can search for nearby providers on a map, view copay amounts, and compare provider ratings. The plan incentivizes employees by reducing co-pays for high-quality providers, steering members toward more efficient, better-rated care without sacrificing choice or convenience.
Best of all, the plan would use the same insurance network, allowing the company to achieve its goals without forcing employees to change doctors or navigate a new carrier.
The Results: With the value-based health plan, Newfront helped the company curb rising claims costs and improve employee experience. Employees saw an average 50% reduction in out-of-pocket expenses, while the employer reduced its per member per month (PMPM) claims spend by 17%. What’s more, the plan’s value-based model empowered smarter choices for better health outcomes in the long term.
Employees reported high satisfaction with the new plan, particularly the transparency around cost savings and provider quality. From the employer's perspective, Newfront delivered exactly what was promised: a non-disruptive, cost-saving solution that enhanced the benefits experience.
Paul Martinez
Executive Vice President
Paul focuses on helping companies scale from startup mode to global/public organizations, advising them on their risk, plan design, and compliance for their employee benefit programs at each growth stage. He transitioned into the total rewards space in 2010 after managing a Wells Fargo Financial office in Portland, Oregon. He uses his financial background to provide actuarial-based consultations and create forward-thinking solutions for companies to break the status quo on annual health insurance increases.
