The benefits landscape is entering a period of significant transformation, with virtual care assuming an increasingly strategic role. This session will examine the critical trends expected to influence benefits plan design in 2026, including cost pressures, evolving workforce expectations, and the need for support that truly engages employees, solutions they can understand, trust, and actually use. Participants will gain a forward-looking perspective on these dynamics and practical guidance for structuring benefit programs that deliver sustainable value to both employees and the organization.
In this session, participants will hear five key trends drawn from client conversations and industry signals including how:
- Employers are raising the bar for virtual care—demanding integrated solutions that deliver greater value and close care gaps.
- Employers are using virtual care to drive early intervention, coordinated care, and better outcomes.
- Mental health is evolving from reactive support to integrated, continuous care—becoming central to workforce resilience.
- Employers are rethinking GLP-1 coverage to balance cost and outcomes.
- CGMs are expanding beyond diabetes to drive personalized, preventive care.
Meet the Presenters
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Alex Alonso
Alex Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is SHRM's Chief Knowledge Officer, leading the organization’s intelligence, insights, and innovation divisions. As leader of SHRM’s Thought Leadership & Business Intelligence operations, his total career portfolio has been based upon practical thought leadership designed to make better workplaces and grow revenue across industry.
Alonso’s thought leadership has been featured in numerous media outlets including USA Today, NBC News, BBC, CNN, and more. He has served as a member of several speakers bureaus with more than 400 speaking engagements on human capital topics and driving productivity over the last decade.
His works have been acknowledged for their contributions to real-world human capital issues. This includes being recognized with the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP’s) 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for developing the federal standard for learning and development of healthcare providers; a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for designing performance management systems; and the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award for extensive applied research on the link between human resource management and organizational sustainability.
Throughout his career, Alonso has published works in peer-reviewed journals, authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, and authored books such as The Price of Pettiness, Talking Taboo: Making the Most of Polarizing Topics, and Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice. He has served on several advisory boards including The Secretary of Defense’s Defense Business Board (DBB) and the Zeal Capital Investor Advisory board. He is a Fellow of SIOP, Division 14, of the American Psychological Association.
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Dr. Louise Short
Louise Short, MD, MSc, FACOEM, is the National Clinical Leader for Brown & Brown, LLC, and leads the Population Health practice as well as the Health Innovation Hub. She has a focus on making the healthcare system work better and has relationships with as well as in-depth knowledge of many of the innovative health companies in the marketplace that are trying to solve key issues facing employers and workers. She is also a member of the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) Cost & Delivery Institute.
Dr. Short has a background in internal medicine, occupational and preventive medicine, and 25 years of experience providing clinical leadership in designing, implementing, and measuring population health programs and strategies. As a consultant, she has worked with many large and jumbo employers including Lowe’s, Bank of New York Mellon, Dollar General, and PepsiCo to help improve population health and medical costs.
Before consulting Dr. Short worked for Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, Healthways (now Sharecare), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as being in clinical practice. Her expertise also includes analytics, epidemiology, managed care plan administration and medical management, clinical and behavioral health strategy and program management, and outcomes measurement strategy and execution.
Dr. Short has helped lead the COVID-19 response for Brown & Brown teammates and develop approaches to assist our clients and other employers with issues, policies, and strategies related to COVID-19 and safe Return to the Workplace.
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Gabrielle Boisvert
Gabrielle Boisvert is Vice President US Commercial Strategy and Solutions at Teladoc Health. She is an experienced health services leader who is passionate about driving healthcare transformation through solutions that enhance consumer experiences and provide measurable value, care, and support to millions of people. In her current role, she guides Teladoc Health’s success by connecting the company’s innovations with the needs of the market, and by serving as a strategic partner to organizations seeking to enhance the value of their health benefits. Before joining Teladoc Health in 2021, she held leadership positions at leading health plan organizations for nearly 30 years.
SHRM certification has approved this webinar for 1 PDC toward SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification. A program code will be provided at the end of the webinar.