Ep 264 – Inside Nava’s People-Centered Benefits Strategy | Brandon Weber, Nava Benefits

1.  Benefits are now the second largest expense for companies

Healthcare and benefits now rank just behind payroll as the second largest expense for most companies. Yet many HR teams still treat them like a low-impact admin task. Brandon urges a total reframe:

“You hold the purse strings for whether someone has a good or bad experience when they get cancer. You are the healthcare buyer for half of America.”

This isn’t just about cost. Benefits are increasingly influencing recruiting, retention, and employee satisfaction. HR has more leverage than they realize.

2. Most HR teams are stuck in a loop they don’t know how to break

The traditional benefits broker model has created a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. HR teams outsource everything, get back a spreadsheet, and rinse and repeat. The system feels too complex to challenge, so they don’t.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”

But 2025 might be the tipping point. With renewal rates spiking to 20% or more for many companies, HR is feeling the pain — and looking for a way out.
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3. The "alt" healthcare marketplace is exploding

There’s a whole world of innovative healthcare solutions that most HR teams have never even heard of. Think captives, unbundled PBMs, or platforms like Garner Health and Sidecar Health.

“The future is here. It’s just unevenly distributed.”

The problem? Distribution. These solutions don’t make it to the HR buyer because traditional brokers stick to the same old playbook. Nava is helping companies tap into these alternatives and actually implement them.
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4. You can moneyball your benefits spend

Instead of picking plans based on last year’s options, Nava helps HR teams act like data-driven GMs. Their tech lets you quote 30x more scenarios, build smarter plan designs, and make airtight business cases for your CFO.

“Apply data science to what used to be a spreadsheet problem. You’ll spend your healthcare dollars way more effectively.”

This is an example of how HR stops being the middleman and starts leading benefits strategy with confidence.

5. HR teams need more leverage, not more headcount

The workload around benefits has exploded—from compliance and carrier audits to fielding daily questions from employees. But most HR teams haven’t gotten the extra support to match.

“The average company went from offering 6 benefits to over 20 in the last decade. Each one is its own mini RFP.”

Instead of throwing more people at the problem, Brandon advocates for systems, like Nava, that reduce complexity and give HR back their time. Strategic work can’t happen when you're stuck troubleshooting claims.

6. AI isn’t a buzzword — it’s already changing how benefits work

There’s been a lot of hype around AI, but Brandon shared practical examples of how it’s quietly transforming the benefits space. From real-time renewal modeling to automatic error detection in carrier bills, AI is making it easier for HR teams to act quickly and confidently.

“It’s like going from spreadsheets to kayak.com. Suddenly you can run 30 scenarios in minutes.”

AI isn’t replacing HR—it’s augmenting their ability to make smarter, faster decisions in a system that wasn’t designed to be user-friendly.
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Thanks for reading. See you next time!

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