An open letter to the health benefits industry from Ray Goforth, SVP of Marketing at Take Command
To my colleagues across health benefits: the brokers, carriers, administrators, advisors, and everyone else who shapes how people get their care,
I’ve spent more than a decade in healthcare, from leading digital strategy at a global healthcare leader to heading marketing for digital and mental health companies serving employers, health plans, and millions of members. Today I also serve on the board of the HRA Council. I’ve seen this industry from a lot of angles. I’ve seen what works. More often, I’ve seen people working hard to make sense of a system that was never designed with them in mind.
That’s why I’m writing this. I believe we have an opportunity to fundamentally improve the way people experience health benefits, and this letter is a declaration of what I believe our industry needs to stand for as we enter this next chapter.
The market is changing, and we can’t keep approaching health benefits the same way
Healthcare affordability, marketplace volatility, and the complexity of traditional employer-sponsored insurance are creating pressure for employers and employees. The numbers make that clear.
Workers now pay an average of $7,471 a year toward family coverage, up 9% from 2025, and total family premiums have reached $28,303.¹ The individual market is under strain too. Marketplace premiums rose by double digits in 2026, and insurers proposed a median increase of about 14% for 2027.² That’s the steepest run of back-to-back increases since 2018.³
Behind every one of those numbers is a person trying to afford their care, and an employer trying to do right by their team.
The industry needs to acknowledge these challenges openly. We need more transparency, better education, and a willingness to rethink how employers provide health benefits.
CHOICE represents an important evolution, but policy momentum alone isn’t enough
ICHRA is now CHOICE Arrangement. New name, same benefits. The increased attention from CMS is meaningful. We’re seeing CHOICE move into a broader national conversation about the future of employer-sponsored healthcare.
But this isn’t simply about a new name for ICHRA or government support. It’s about rethinking a model that has historically limited flexibility and individual choice. CHOICE Arrangements create an opportunity to do things differently, but we need to be clear that it isn’t a silver bullet.
Our industry has a responsibility to deliver on the promise of CHOICE
This is the heart of this letter.
Administrators, carriers, brokers, and other stakeholders have an obligation to make this model work for the people who depend on it. We need to lead with transparency, simplify complexity, help employees make informed decisions, and hold ourselves accountable for the experience we deliver.
The success of CHOICE won’t be determined solely by federal policy, adoption numbers, or how many employers make the transition. It will be determined by whether we actually deliver something better for employers and employees.
We cannot advocate for choice without taking responsibility for what happens after that choice is offered.
Why I joined Take Command
Take Command started around the time our founder, Jack Hooper, and his wife Brittany were expecting twins. Jack went on to spend his time at Wharton researching healthcare cost transparency, and that work became the foundation for Take Command.
Jack’s motto has always been simple: health insurance was never meant to be this complicated. He set out to bring transparency, advocacy, and plain common sense to the world of health insurance.
That mission is why I’m here.
If we’re going to advocate for a new model, we have to be willing to hold ourselves to a higher standard. So here’s what we believe at Take Command, how we’re putting it into practice, and where we know we still have work to do.
We won’t stand for the status quo
We believe the market is changing, and we can’t keep approaching health benefits the same way.
We believe in a willingness to rethink how employers provide health benefits.
We believe we should be building a healthcare experience around people, not asking people to navigate a system built around the industry.
How we’re committing to it:
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We’ll acknowledge the challenges employers and employees face openly.
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We’ll challenge the status quo without being combative.
- We’ll keep rethinking a model that has historically limited flexibility and individual choice.
Where we’re pushing ourselves: Challenging the status quo means challenging our own habits too, and asking whether what we’re building still meets people’s needs.
We commit to honest conversations
We believe the industry needs more transparency.
We believe marketplace volatility belongs in every CHOICE conversation.
We believe we need to be clear that CHOICE isn’t a silver bullet.
How we’re committing to it:
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We’ll talk openly about affordability and marketplace volatility, including the hard parts.
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We’ll ground our guidance in real numbers.
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We’ll tell an employer when CHOICE isn’t the right fit.
Where we’re pushing ourselves: We want every conversation, from the first call to the renewal, to give people the full picture.
We believe choice without transparency isn’t progress
We believe more options don’t automatically create better outcomes.
We believe better education is one of the most important things we can deliver.
We believe every employee deserves the support to make an informed decision.
How we’re committing to it:
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We’ll lead with transparency.
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We’ll simplify complexity wherever we find it.
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We’ll help employees make informed decisions about the coverage that fits their lives.
Where we’re pushing ourselves: We know there are still moments when people find this confusing. Each one tells us where we need to do better.
We take responsibility for a good employee experience
We believe the responsibility of an administrator doesn’t end when an employee enrolls.
We believe we cannot advocate for choice without taking responsibility for what happens after that choice is offered.
We believe success means delivering something better for employers and employees.
How we’re committing to it:
- We’ll hold ourselves accountable for the experience we deliver.
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We’ll support employees well beyond enrollment, through the moments that matter most to them and their families.
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We’ll own it when something goes wrong, and fix it.
Where we’re pushing ourselves: This is where we want to be at our best, and where we know we have the most room to grow.
We hold ourselves to a higher standard
We believe that if we’re going to advocate for a new model, we have to be willing to hold ourselves to a higher standard.
We believe we have an opportunity to redefine what good looks like, and that comes with real responsibility.
We don’t have everything figured out. We need to be better at meeting people’s needs, and we’re working every day to get there. We want to lead this conversation, set a high standard, and hold ourselves accountable for meeting it.
A challenge to our industry
We’re at an important turning point in employer-sponsored healthcare, and CHOICE gives us an opportunity to help shape what comes next.
So here’s my challenge to all of us, Take Command included. Let’s lead with transparency. Let’s simplify complexity. Let’s help employees make informed decisions. And let’s hold ourselves accountable for the experience we deliver, long after enrollment ends.
We have an opportunity to do something meaningful here, but we have to get it right.
Ready for change? Choice is just the beginning.
Ray Goforth
SVP of Marketing, Take Command
References
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KFF, “Workers Now Pay $7,471 on Average Annually for Family Health Coverage, Up 9% or $621 from 2025,” October 22, 2026. https://www.kff.org/other-health/workers-now-pay-7471-on-average-annually-for-family-health-coverage-up-9-or-621-from-2025-benchmark-employer-health-benefits-survey-finds/
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Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, “How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2027.” https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/how-much-and-why-aca-marketplace-premiums-are-going-up-in-2027
- The Commonwealth Fund, “More ACA premium spikes come 2027 amid federal policy changes,” 2026. https://commonwealthfund.org/blog/2026/more-aca-premium-spikes-come-2027-amid-federal-policy-changes
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