Every health plan — good or bad, stable or volatile, efficient or wasteful — is shaped by just four forces: utilization, unit cost, population health, and clinical quality. These aren’t abstract metrics. They are the engines that drive every financial and clinical outcome an employer experiences.
Traditional brokers ignore them.
NextGen Advisers master them.
Utilization shows what care is being used.
Unit cost reveals what employers pay for that care.
Population health determines future risk.
Clinical quality dictates whether claims improve outcomes or create more claims.
When you measure all four, patterns appear.
When you diagnose the root cause, solutions become clear.
And when you control the forces, you control the plan.
NextGen Advisers don’t wait for renewal surprises — they engineer results. They use data to expose inefficiencies, align incentives, upgrade clinical pathways, and eliminate waste before it hits the balance sheet.
This is how advisers move from reacting to leading.
From guessing to predicting.
From selling to strategically managing a multimillion-dollar business function.
At ASCEND 2026, you’ll learn the full framework:
• How to analyze the four forces with precision
• How to translate data into an actionable employer strategy
• How to fix root causes instead of symptoms
• How to demonstrate value using metrics CEOs trust
Master the four forces, and you master the plan.
Learn how — only at ASCEND.
Secure your seat at AttendAscend.com.