Why hybrid healthcare is a business imperative for employers in California

By Beth Andersen • President, Anthem Blue Cross in California

Access to healthcare is more than a recruiting or retention tool. It’s one of the largest line items on the balance sheet and a critical factor in workforce stability. As costs and expectations rise, employers and employees want a simpler, more integrated healthcare experience. Yet for many, navigating healthcare still feels fragmented, time-consuming, and overwhelming — from finding the right care provider to understanding benefits and costs to scheduling appointments.

As employers compete for talent and work to keep employees healthy and engaged, access to healthcare must better reflect how people live and work. Employers are also looking for solutions that lower the total cost of care while improving the overall experience. The future isn’t fully virtual or entirely in-person, but hybrid: seamlessly combining digital tools, virtual support, and in‑person care with greater speed, precision, and connectivity.

We see this shift firsthand with the members we serve. For employers, it’s clear: healthcare must be easier to navigate, more integrated across care settings, supporting a more coordinated, whole-health approach. Our goal is to help employees — our members — in California spend less time managing care and more time focused on work and life, while helping lower their cost of healthcare and simplify how people navigate the system.

Why hybrid healthcare is a business imperative

Today’s healthcare system was largely designed around in-person visits, which no longer aligns with modern schedules or expectations. Access can be limited, wait times are long, and coordinating care across providers is often left to the individual. At the same time, the workforce expects flexibility. When nearly two-thirds of hourly workers receive schedules week to week, care requiring long wait times and limited appointments don’t work for employees or their employers.

Hybrid healthcare addresses this gap by combining digital tools, virtual care, and in-person services into a simpler, more integrated experience. This includes more integrated approaches across medical, pharmacy, and behavioral health. This makes it easier for people to access support quickly, identify needs earlier, avoid unnecessary office visits, and get the right level of care when they need it. For employers, that translates to fewer disruptions during the workday, better employee engagement, and lower costs tied to missed work or delayed care.

Across California, where nearly 20 million people participate in the workforce, employers are increasingly looking for ways to support employees’ health while minimizing disruptions to the workday. Hybrid healthcare makes that possible by giving people more flexible, connected ways to access care when and where they need it.

Using technology responsibly to simplify and personalize care

The opportunity to improve the experience is significant. A Harris Poll survey found that people spend eight hours a month coordinating care. That’s time most employees don’t have.

At Anthem Blue Cross, our focus is on making healthcare easier to navigate by using technology, including responsibly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), to help remove barriers, simplify decisions, save time, and support earlier, more personalized interventions.

For people in California, we support this model in several ways:

• A single digital front door: Through the Sydney Health member engagement platform, members can find in‑network providers, check benefits, estimate costs, and schedule appointments in one place.
• Personalized guidance: AI‑enabled tools help surface relevant information and recommended next steps based on an individual’s needs and strengthen decision-making with data-driven insights — while maintaining privacy, transparency, and human oversight.
• Proactive support: By combining data with outreach like app notifications, text messages, or emails, we can engage people earlier with more personalized support for preventive services, medication reminders, or chronic condition resources.

We’re also investing in systems that allow health information to appropriately and securely move more easily across the care continuum. When data is connected, providers have better visibility of their patient’s health, and employees spend less time repeating information or tracking down answers, and administrative complexity is reduced.

Why interoperability matters

Hybrid care only works when information can follow the individual. Without that connectivity, hybrid care breaks down creating fragmented experiences, delays in care, and unnecessary complexity for employees trying to navigate the system. When this happens, employees spend more time managing their care, face avoidable delays, and are more likely to postpone treatment, leading to higher downstream costs and more disruption during the workday. It should feel simpler and more integrated.

Interoperability helps make those transitions seamless by creating a simpler, more integrated experience, reducing repeated questions, duplicative tests, and avoidable delays. For employers, those inefficiencies show up as real costs — in higher healthcare spending and employees spending more time away from work managing care instead of receiving it. 

When information moves more seamlessly, providers can make more informed decisions quicker, enabling earlier intervention and better coordination across care settings. In 2024 alone, the U.S. healthcare system avoided an estimated $258 billion in administrative costs through electronic transactions and improved data exchange. Through Health OS, our digital interoperability platform, we’re connecting data from the various corners of healthcare to give care providers and consumers a more complete view of a person’s health and healthcare, helping to create a more integrated healthcare experience.

Raising expectations for the healthcare experience

People expect healthcare to fit into their lives. Meeting that expectation requires a connected, flexible approach that seamlessly blends technology with in-person care.

Building a more effective healthcare system will require continued partnership across stakeholders, including employers, care providers, and health plans. Smarter, more connected care approaches can improve the cost of care, simplify the healthcare experience, improve outcomes, and support a healthier, more productive, workforce — strengthening businesses in California.

Learn more at anthem.com/ca/healthcareincalifornia.