“Tomorrowist” Podcast Episode
The New Benefits Balancing Act: Affordability, Flexibility, and Retention
- Video
- Audio Only
Rising healthcare inflation, shifting workforce expectations, and increasing benefits complexity are challenging leaders to rethink how they design programs that support both employees and organizational performance. In this episode, Mercer’s Tracy Watts, Senior Partner and U.S. Leader for Healthcare Policy, explores the major forces reshaping employee benefits. She breaks down how leaders can build flexible, future-ready benefits strategies that improve access, strengthen workforce resilience, and adapt to a rapidly changing healthcare and policy landscape.
Related to this Episode:
Advocacy: SHRM’s Top Five Workplace Policy Issues for 2026
Stay ahead of the policy, compliance, and workforce trends reshaping how organizations manage AI, benefits, talent, and workplace risk in 2026.
Research: 2025 Employee Benefits Survey
Benchmark your organization’s strategy and uncover the benefits, flexibility, and emerging perks today’s workforce values most.
The podcast is just the beginning. The weekly Tomorrowist newsletter features articles on the trends redefining the future of work. Explore these must-read insights from the latest issue. Subscribe now to prepare your business for what's next.
News + Insights
Episode Guest
-
Tracy Watts
Tracy Watts is a Senior Partner and US Leader for Healthcare Policy at Mercer. A consultant with Mercer for over 35 years, she’s widely quoted as a spokesperson for Mercer's survey of employer sponsored health benefit plans and is a lead contributor on Mercer’s US Health News blog. Tracy is ex-officio Board Chair of the American Benefits Council, on the executive steering committee of The Alliance to Fight for HealthCare and the Business Advisory Council for the Health Action Alliance (HAA). She leads Mercer’s involvement with the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health and Business Action to End HIV and was named a “Top 25 Consultant” for excellence in healthcare by Consulting® Magazine. She frequently represents employer interests to policymakers in Washington DC and has testified before Congress on several occasions.
Episode Transcript
This transcript is coming soon.
Featured Story
Health care cost management, financial wellness benefits, and health savings accounts are among the employee benefits to watch in the coming year.
Feature Stories
Discover six proactive strategies to combat employee fatigue, reduce business risk, and build resilience in workplaces defined by rapid change and upheaval.
With many U.S. workers fearing that AI poses a threat to their jobs, HR can ease concerns with clear strategy, training, and a strong culture of learning.
Learn how rethinking hiring systems can unlock untapped talent and help build a stronger, more resilient, and future-ready workforce.