The 2026 Renewal Landscape

For self-insured businesses, renewal season can feel like a dreaded déjà vu: rising healthcare costs, limited plan options, and brokers offering only incremental tweaks. Year after year, renewal rates are climbing, leaving HR and finance teams with tough choices: pass costs to employees, cut benefits, or accept higher premiums at the expense of their core business.

For smaller self-insured and level-funded plans, leverage is minimal, and businesses with 50–500 employees often feel stuck.

Why Employers Are Exploring Alternatives

It’s no surprise that small businesses are searching for renewal planning cost strategies. Common frustrations include:

• Renewal rates that feel unjustifiably high
• A lack of cost transparency from carriers
• Limited strategies from brokers beyond shifting plan designs

After years of underperforming point solutions, employers are turning to the innovative approach that fundamentally fixes their plans - Direct Primary Care (DPC).

Direct Primary Care as a Cost Strategy

DPC flips the traditional model: instead of paying inflated claims for low value care, employers cover flat monthly fees for unlimited, personalized primary care. The impact:

• 20–40% reduction in downstream costs (fewer ER visits, specialist referrals, and avoidable claims)
• Better employee access to care, reducing absenteeism
• Predictable budgeting and a clear ROI
  
  

When people feel healthy, they bring their best selves to work. Direct Primary Care provides the high-touch, high quality primary care that keeps employees out of the ER and Urgent Care and helps them manage conditions holistically. 

Where DPC Fits in Your Renewal Checklist

When building your benefits renewal checklist, DPC should be a cost-saving lever:

• Include it in broker evaluations and provider comparisons
• Pair with self-funded or level-funded models for maximum savings
• Position it as an additional benefit idea that employees actually value
  
  

Practical Steps for HR Leaders

• Start renewal conversations early, ideally 4–6 months out
• Review new laws enabling DPC + Health Saving Account (HSA) pairing
• Use DPC as part of your benefits switching strategy if renewal rates are too high
• Use Hint Connect to implement DPC wherever your employees are through one single contract
  
  

The Bottom Line

In 2026, businesses can’t afford to accept rising healthcare costs as inevitable. Direct Primary Care offers a proven way to cut renewal costs while improving employee health and satisfaction.

📊 Want to see real data? Download Hint’s 2025 Employer Trends in DPC Report to
understand how over 7,200 employers are already using DPC to transform their benefits strategy.

Ready to work Direct Primary Care into your renewal process? Schedule a meeting with the Hint Connect team to see what DPC can do for your business.

FAQs for Renewal Season

Q: How can businesses reduce healthcare costs during benefits renewal?
A: Businesses can reduce renewal costs by exploring alternative funding models, pushing brokers to bring innovative approaches, and adding Direct Primary Care (DPC) as a benefit. DPC lowers claims costs, reduces ER visits, and provides predictable monthly fees for primary care.

Q: What should be on a benefits renewal checklist for 2026?
A: A strong renewal checklist includes: reviewing current utilization data, evaluating broker options, comparing fully insured vs. self-funded models, assessing renewal rates, and identifying cost-saving additions like DPC benefits.

Q: When should HR start renewal planning for 2026?
A: Ideally, renewal planning should begin 4–6 months before your contract date. Early planning gives you leverage with brokers, time to evaluate alternatives like DPC, and space to model cost impacts.

Q: What can I do if renewal rates are too high?
A: If rates are high, consider self-funding, shopping for a new reinsurance carrier, adding cost-control benefits such as DPC, or switching carriers. You can also renegotiate broker agreements and explore partial carve-outs to reduce total spend.

Q: Is Direct Primary Care (DPC) a good option for benefits renewal?
A: Yes! DPC offers employees unlimited primary care for a flat monthly fee, reducing downstream claims and creating predictable costs. Many employers find DPC helps offset rising renewal rates while improving employee satisfaction.

Q: How does DPC fit into self-funded vs. fully insured plans?
A: In fully insured plans, DPC can be added as a wraparound benefit to enhance member experience and health status. In self-funded plans, DPC is even more powerful because reduced claims directly lower your spend, making renewals more favorable.

Q: What are some additional benefits ideas for 2026 renewal?
A: Beyond DPC, employers can add mental health support, lifestyle stipends, or ancillary benefits like dental/vision. Pairing DPC with these benefits strengthens your package without drastically increasing renewal costs.