The 2026 Business Group on Health Annual Conference brought together health and well-being leaders from around the globe to New Orleans at a moment of extraordinary complexity for workforce health and well-being strategy. With healthcare costs continuing to outpace expectations, employee needs evolving rapidly and innovation accelerating across the market, the conference offered attendees not just information, but perspective grounded in real-world experience.
What made those insights especially valuable was the environment in which they were shared. As Business Group on Health president and CEO, Ellen Kelsay noted in her opening remarks, the strength of this community lies not only in its breadth, but in the way members show up—with authenticity, intellect and candor, openly discussing what is working, what is not and where employers must go next. That spirit shaped the conversations throughout the member-only event, where peers, partners and other experts moved beyond surface-level observations and engaged in the kind of practical, solutions-oriented dialogue that helps employers act with greater confidence.
Over the course of the conference, three themes stood out.
Bold moves are required to transform the healthcare ecosystem
Across sessions, one message came through clearly: the combination of escalating costs, emerging innovation, changing employee expectations and declining population health is forcing employers to think differently about their role in the system. Employers discussed the need for greater vendor accountability, more transparency across health and pharmacy benefits, and a willingness to embrace strategies that may once have seemed too disruptive.
Those conversations carried extra weight because they were driven by members sharing candidly with one another in a trusted setting. The result was a sharper, more practical exchange about how employers can influence affordability, quality and outcomes rather than simply react to market pressures.
Prevention and primary care are the foundation for sustainable cost management
Another central insight was the growing importance of prevention, chronic condition management and primary care as the foundation for more sustainable healthcare strategies. Sessions highlighted how employers are elevating advanced primary care and value-based care models to improve outcomes while helping manage long-term costs.
The intentionally curated member-only environment created space for unfiltered peer exchange, where employers shared candidly about how prevention-focused strategies are actually working inside organizations facing the same cost and complexity challenges.
AI enhances care when coordinated with human interaction
Artificial intelligence was another major theme, particularly in navigation, mental health, and well-being. Conference discussions consistently emphasized that AI delivers the greatest value when it is integrated with human-centered resources, not used as a replacement for them. Employers raised critical concerns about safety, particularly in mental health applications, emphasizing the need to build evaluation frameworks that test whether AI tools are safe for their specific organizational context before deployment.
With the discussion fueled by engaged members sharing real implementation stories, the AI conversation stayed grounded in practical application, fostering objective and thoughtful interactions that explored all angles of deployment, risk and outcomes, and resulted in well-rounded and solutions-focused exchanges about how to balance innovation with empathy, trust and responsible implementation.
The power of shared commitment
Throughout the conference, the blend of insight and openness reflected what makes this community distinctive. In her remarks, Kelsay described the Business Group's "special sauce" as a combination of unparalleled community, constructive engagement, and credible, objective influence—qualities that were evident in every session and hallway conversation.
The conference also celebrated employers who are setting the standard for innovation and impact. Business Group on Health honored 56 organizations with its Best Employers Award: Excellence in Health & Well-being, recognizing leaders in areas including mental health, health inclusion and global well-being. HII received the Best Employers Award: Excellence in Healthcare Value for its evidence-based approach focused on prevention, clinical outcomes and long-term savings.
Employers are being asked to make increasingly difficult decisions in an environment with few simple answers. While the Annual Conference provides an unmatched opportunity for face-to-face collaboration, this sense of community and problem-solving extends throughout the year—through learning events, Institutes, Committee and Forum meetings, and continuously updated resources on the Business Group website. Together, these touchpoints create ongoing opportunities for members to share experiences, test strategies, and stay ahead of emerging challenges.
