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Insights, updates, and analysis from the Bnchmrk team, covering benefits trends, product updates, and data-driven perspectives.

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66 posts

Data Insights

How Many Health Plans Do Employers Typically Offer? (2026 Data)

Most employers offer a choice, not a single plan: 52% offer three or more medical options, 30% offer two, 18% offer one. The 2026 benchmarks by size and industry, from verified employer plan data.

Thought Leadership

Open Enrollment 2026: What to Know

What to prioritize heading into the 2026 open enrollment season: cost pressure, GLP-1 decisions, parity enforcement, and why benchmarking beats renewing blind.

Thought Leadership

Self-Funding Keeps Climbing: Why the Mid-Market Is Moving

Self-funding is no longer a large-employer story. Why the mid-market is moving, what the stop-loss decisions really turn on, and how to benchmark it.

Thought Leadership

GLP-1 Coverage in 2026: Where Employers Are Landing

Employers are landing all over the map on GLP-1 coverage. The coverage spectrum, the guardrails in use, and how to set a position you can defend.

Thought Leadership

The Data Problem at the Center of Benefits AI

The most valuable data in employer-sponsored benefits has never been in a database. Here's why that's true, what it took to fix it, and what eleven years of verified plan data actually unlocks.

Data Insights

The State of PTO: What the Data Actually Shows

Unlimited PTO is rarer than you think. Parental leave gaps persist. Here's what real employer data reveals about PTO policies.

Company

2025 Year in Review

A look back at a milestone year for Bnchmrk: new features, expanded data, and a decade of growth.

Product

Introducing Contribution Modeling

Model employer contribution scenarios in real-time. See how changes impact competitiveness before you commit.

Product

Introducing Plan Scoring

Get a single score for any benefits plan. Instantly understand where you stand against the market.

Thought Leadership

Open Enrollment 2025: What to Know

Key trends and considerations for benefits professionals heading into open enrollment season.

Product

Stop-Loss Benchmarking Expansion: Captives, Corridors, and More

We've doubled the data points in stop-loss benchmarking. Now track captives, aggregate corridors, contract basis, and more.

Company

10 Years of Bnchmrk: Lessons from a Decade of Data

Reflections on building an independent benchmarking platform: what we've learned, what's changed, and what's next.

Data Insights

Healthcare Cost Trends: Mid-Year 2025

What our data shows about healthcare cost trajectories halfway through 2025.

Thought Leadership

Pharmacy Benefit Trends: What Employers Are Doing About Drug Costs

A look at how employers are structuring pharmacy benefits amid rising specialty drug costs.

Product

Introducing Percentage-Based Contribution Benchmarking

Now benchmark employer contributions as a share of premium, plus a preview of contribution modeling coming later this year.

Thought Leadership

2025 Benefits Trends to Watch

Our outlook for the year ahead: what's changing in employer benefits and what to prepare for.

Company

2024 Year in Review

A record year for Bnchmrk: 10,000 employers, expanded coverage, and new insights.

Data Insights

Benefits as a Retention Tool: The Data

What our benchmarking data reveals about the link between competitive benefits and employee retention.

Thought Leadership

Benchmarking in the Age of AI

How AI is changing benefits administration, and what it means for benchmarking.

Thought Leadership

Open Enrollment 2024: What We're Watching

Key trends shaping this year's open enrollment season.

Data Insights

The Employer Response to Mental Health Parity

How employers are adapting to evolving mental health parity requirements.

Data Insights

Healthcare Cost Trends: Mid-Year 2024

A data-driven look at where healthcare costs are heading in 2024.

Industry

Transparency in Coverage: One Year Later

Assessing the impact of price transparency regulations on employer benefits.

Company

10,000 Employers: A Data Milestone

Bnchmrk's dataset now includes 10,000 active employers. Here's what that means for benchmarking accuracy.

Thought Leadership

2024 Benefits Outlook

Our forecast for the year ahead: trends, challenges, and opportunities in employer benefits.

Company

2023 Year in Review

Reflecting on a year of growth: new features, expanded data, and milestones.

Thought Leadership

Benefits Competitiveness: What It Takes to Win Talent

In a tight labor market, benefits matter more than ever. Here's what competitive looks like.

Data Insights

Open Enrollment 2023: Key Trends

What we're seeing as employers finalize their benefits for the coming year.

Industry

How Employers Are Responding to GLP-1 Drug Costs

The rise of Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs is forcing employers to make tough coverage decisions.

Data Insights

Mid-Year Healthcare Cost Update

Tracking healthcare cost trends through the first half of 2023.

Product

Introducing Stop-Loss Benchmarking

Self-funded employers can now benchmark stop-loss coverage: specific deductibles, rates, lasers, and more.

Thought Leadership

What to Expect in 2023: Benefits Forecast

Our predictions for the benefits landscape in 2023.

Company

2022 Year in Review

A landmark year: Wakely partnership, industry recognition, and continued growth.

Data Insights

Self-Funded vs Fully-Insured: 2022 Trends

How employers are thinking about funding arrangements in the current market.

Data Insights

Inflation and Benefits: How Employers Are Responding

With inflation at 40-year highs, how are employers adjusting their benefits strategy?

Product

Welcome Wakely Clients: What's New on Bnchmrk

A guide for Wakely benchmarking clients transitioning to the Bnchmrk platform.

Company

Wakely Consulting Transitions Benchmarking Clients to Bnchmrk

Wakely Consulting Group has selected Bnchmrk as the benchmarking solution for its employer clients.

Data Insights

Rising Healthcare Costs: Mid-Year Check-In

Tracking cost trends through the first half of 2022.

Company

25% of Top 100 Advisors Now Use Bnchmrk

A milestone in industry adoption: one quarter of the top benefits advisors rely on Bnchmrk.

Thought Leadership

Benefits Trends to Watch in 2022

What's shaping employer benefits in 2022 and beyond.

Company

2021 Year in Review

Reflecting on a year of recovery, adaptation, and growth.

Thought Leadership

What Employees Want: Benefits That Drive Retention

Which benefits matter most for keeping employees? Here's what the data shows.

Product

Small Group Benchmarking: Flexible Age-Banded Rate Modeling

Small groups deserve good benchmarking too. Our new age-banded rate tools make it possible.

Industry

The Great Resignation and the New Benefits Arms Race

Workers are quitting in record numbers. Benefits are becoming a key battleground.

Thought Leadership

2021 Benefits Outlook

What to expect from employer benefits as we emerge from the pandemic.

Company

2020 Year in Review: The Year Everything Changed

How the pandemic transformed employer benefits, and what we learned.

Thought Leadership

Open Enrollment 2020: Planning Amid Uncertainty

How employers are approaching open enrollment in the most uncertain year in memory.

Data Insights

Telehealth Benefits: From Perk to Priority

Telehealth went from nice-to-have to essential overnight. Here's what we're seeing.

Company

Bnchmrk Now Covers All 50 States + State-Level Filtering

Local benchmarking is here. Filter by any state or combination of states for precise peer comparisons.

Data Insights

How Employers Are Adjusting Benefits During the Pandemic

What our data reveals about real-time changes to employer benefits during COVID-19.

Industry

COVID-19 and Employee Benefits: What Employers Need to Know

The pandemic is reshaping employee benefits in real-time. Here's what we're tracking.

Company

2019 Year in Review

A year of steady growth: new plan types, deeper data, and expanded coverage.

Data Insights

Open Enrollment Trends: What We're Seeing

Patterns emerging from this year's open enrollment season.

Product

Now Benchmarking Life and Disability Plans

Basic life, STD, and LTD benchmarking data is now available in the platform.

Data Insights

The Many Ways Employers Structure Contributions

Beyond simple dollar amounts: salary banding, wellness incentives, tobacco surcharges, and spousal surcharges.

Data Insights

What 15,000 Plans Tell Us About Employer Strategy

Insights from our growing dataset on how employers approach benefits.

Company

2018: A Year of Building

Looking back on a year focused on platform development and data expansion.

Data Insights

The Rise of HDHPs: What Our Data Shows

High-deductible health plans continue to grow. Here's what we're seeing in the data.

Product

How the API Eliminates Double Data Entry

Connect your systems to Bnchmrk and stop entering the same data twice.

Product

Introducing the Bnchmrk API

Real-time benchmarking built into your workflow. Connect your CRM or data system directly to Bnchmrk.

Thought Leadership

How Consultants Use Benchmarking to Win New Business

Top advisors use data to differentiate. Here's how benchmarking fits into the sales process.

Product

Now Benchmarking Dental and Vision Plans

Medical benchmarking is just the start. Dental and vision data is now available.

Product

Announcing the Bnchmrk Platform

Nationwide benchmarking on demand. The Bnchmrk platform is now live.

Company

Bnchmrk Partners with NFP to Deliver Real-Time Benchmarking

NFP, a leading insurance broker and consultant, has partnered with Bnchmrk to bring real-time benchmarking to its advisors nationwide.

Thought Leadership

Why Survey Data Isn't Enough Anymore

The industry has relied on surveys for decades. It's time for something better.

Company

Introducing Bnchmrk: Real Data for Benefits Professionals

We started Bnchmrk to solve a problem we lived every day: benefits professionals deserve better data.