Is Your Healthcare Strategy Keeping Up with Rising Costs and Access Challenges?

For employers, rising healthcare costs, inconsistent quality, and access disparities are no longer just challenges—they’re urgent problems demanding strategic solutions. What if you could provide your employees with world-class healthcare, reduce costs by up to 70%, and eliminate out-of-pocket expenses—all at the same time?

That’s exactly what Dr. Kumar Dharmarajan, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of World Class Health, explored at the BGH Global Institute on February 5, 2025. Speaking to an audience in Washington, D.C., and virtually in London, he detailed how a Centers of Excellence (CoE) strategy is transforming employer-sponsored healthcare by connecting employees to the top 1% of providers worldwide—without the typical barriers of cost, access, and logistics.

Here’s what you need to know about the future of global healthcare benefits and why employers can’t afford to ignore CoEs any longer.

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The Growing Need for a CoE Strategy

In his presentation, Dr. Dharmarajan highlighted key challenges in the global healthcare landscape:

Quality Improvement: Many employees face subpar providers and poor clinical outcomes due to low transparency in provider quality. CoEs solve this by offering only the top 1% of hospitals and doctors worldwide.

Equity & Global Consistency: Expanding U.S.-level healthcare benefits to other regions can help address gaps in services such as IVF and gender-affirming care.

Improved Access:  Employees often experience long wait times or lack access to specialists. COEs remove these barriers by connecting patients with world-class providers faster and more efficiently.

These challenges underscore why employers are increasingly drawn to CoEs as a solution to manage healthcare costs, address condition-specific concerns, and improve employee health outcomes worldwide.

Key Takeaways from the Presentation

1. Global Excellence Networks Deliver Superior Care

World Class Health has developed a Global Excellence Network that ensures employees receive treatment from the top 1% of hospitals and specialists worldwide. Featured providers include:

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA)
• Sheba Medical Center (Israel)
• Apollo Children’s Hospital (Chennai, India)
• Tata Memorial Hospital (Mumbai, India)

The results? Better clinical outcomes, faster recovery times, and lower readmission rates. Data shows that World Class Health’s CoE network achieves a 65% lower 30-day readmission rate compared to the U.S. average for similar procedures.

2. Navigation & Travel Concierge Services Unlock CoEs

A key barrier to CoE adoption is logistics—how do employees travel for care while minimizing disruption? World Class Health solves this with comprehensive care navigation and travel concierge services, which include:

• Seamless appointment coordination with CoE specialists
• Travel and lodging arrangements for employees and caregivers
• In-hotel recovery support with nurse visits and physical therapy
• $0 out-of-pocket cost for employees, with employer-covered expenses

For employees in regions where specialized care is not readily available, these services ensure frictionless access to top-tier providers, improving both health outcomes and patient experience.

3. CoEs Generate Significant Cost Savings for Employers and Employees

One of the biggest advantages of a CoE strategy is dramatic cost reduction. Compared to traditional U.S. carrier prices, World Class Health’s COE network delivers cost savings of up to 70%.

For example, a shoulder replacement surgery in Austin, TX, typically costs $57,000 for an employer using a U.S. carrier. Through World Class Health’s network, the same procedure is $11,700—a 74% reduction, with zero out-of-pocket costs for the patient.

A case study from HSM Solutions further demonstrates the impact of CoEs:

• $20M+ in employer healthcare savings
• $2.7M in employee copay/coinsurance savings
• 6-8% decrease in overall healthcare spend
• 90+ Net Promoter Score (NPS) from employees

These figures underscore how CoEs are reshaping employer healthcare strategies, delivering both financial savings and improved patient experiences.

Why the Future of COEs Is Bright

Healthcare is evolving—and so are the challenges businesses face in supporting their employees’ well-being. Rising costs, access disparities, and the growing burden of chronic conditions signal the need for innovative solutions. CoEs offer a roadmap for the future, where healthcare is:

• Globally consistent: Employees in every region can access the same world-class care.
• Cost-effective: Employers can reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
• Employee-first: CoEs ensure a seamless, supported care experience for individuals and families.

World Class Health is leading this transformation with its comprehensive CoE strategy, combining unparalleled healthcare quality, affordability, and accessibility across a global network.

Learn More About Centers of Excellence

The BGH Global Institute event underscored the immense potential of CoEs to revolutionize global healthcare. For HR professionals, brokers, and benefit leaders, adopting a CoE strategy could be the competitive edge your organization needs to improve costs and outcomes.

Curious about how CoEs can elevate your organization’s healthcare plan? Here’s how to take the next step:

Visit World Class Health for more information and take action today to transform your organization’s approach to healthcare—because your employees deserve nothing less than the best.

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