Health benefits built for consulting professionals
High performers, high stakes: See how consulting employers may design health plans that reduce costs and support a mobile, high-demand workforce.
The consulting and professional services industry powers some of the most demanding knowledge work in the economy — advising clients, solving complex problems, and delivering expertise across industries, geographies and time zones. It's a fast-paced, client-driven environment where pressure to deliver on tight timelines requires a highly skilled, dedicated workforce — from consultants and analysts to project managers and corporate functions — often working long hours in hybrid or travel-heavy roles.
For these organizations and the HR leaders who support the people behind that work, the signal on employee health is increasingly complex. High-performance demands and high-stress environments take their toll on a highly mobile workforce that may experience inconsistent access and fragmented care across geographies. At the same time, a benefit ecosystem that may be adding noise instead of clarity only makes it harder to see — and act on — what people actually need.
To design benefits that truly fit this population, it helps to understand who they are. Employees in the consulting and professional services sector have an average age of 39.5 and are 55% male, with smaller households and a high prevalence of working partners.1
According to UnitedHealthcare data, when compared to other industries, employees in this sector also had:1
- Fewer ER visits, as well as fewer surgeries and inpatient days
- Fewer catastrophic claimants
- Higher UnitedHealthcare Health Activation Index® (HAI®) scores,2 indicating more optimal health care decision-making
- Slightly lower neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) utilization
- Slightly lower network utilization
Because this is a workforce that, on the whole, is already engaged and making informed health care decisions, the opportunity for employers isn't about correcting poor habits — it's about building on an already strong foundation and removing the barriers that travel, mobility and fragmented care can create.
Supporting the workforce that powers consulting and professional services
To address these industry-specific pain points, employers in the consulting and professional services industry may consider implementing the following strategies when designing their employee benefits portfolio:
1. Extend the network wherever they land
Align benefits to a mobile, high-performing workforce by offering modern, flexible plan designs with a single, unified national network that delivers seamless access wherever employees live, work or travel — reducing out-of-area disruption, prior authorization variability and fragmented care experiences. For a workforce that may be in a different city every week, a national network is a continuity-of-care strategy.
2. Target the conditions that drive the most spend
Direct investments toward the industry's most predictable cost drivers, such as musculoskeletal conditions (MSK) and cancer, by implementing targeted solutions like physical therapy MSK programs, virtual support and oncology navigation. Aligning investments to the group's actual claims profile may help reduce unnecessary procedures, improve health outcomes and enable measurable ROI. Rather than spreading benefit dollars across the full spectrum of conditions, concentrating on the few drivers that move the needle most may deliver better results for both employees and the bottom line.
3. Prioritize mental health and well-being
Strengthen the approach to behavioral health by expanding access to support and substance-use networks, integrating virtual care options and by offering a modernized Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A connected, national approach helps ensure more consistent access, shorter wait times and less fragmentation in care and support, which is critical as behavioral health remains one of the sector's most significant cost and productivity drivers.
4. Turn high engagement into better decisions
Consider expanding advocacy and navigation programs, strengthening wellness incentives tied to measurable outcomes and offering decision-support tools that simplify care selection, cost transparency and pharmacy choices. A workforce already inclined to engage will typically respond well to targeted tools and incentives. Because this population already has high HAI scores, the goal isn't to spark engagement from scratch — it's to give engaged employees even better tools to act on.
5. Catch concerns early with easier preventive access
Consider a benefit plan that emphasizes accessible preventive care, virtual primary care and early identification of emerging conditions rather than relying heavily on traditional chronic/metabolic management. Covering preventive visits once per calendar year (vs. a 365-day requirement) offers greater flexibility for employees with changing schedules, helping them stay current on care. Easier access to primary and preventive services supports earlier intervention, may improve long-term health outcomes and may help manage costs over time. For employees whose calendars shift weekly, flexibility in how and when they access preventive care can be the difference between staying current and falling behind.
6. Provide a single hub for health and wellness tools
UHC Hub® is a centralized platform from UnitedHealthcare that helps employers simplify the selection, purchasing and integration of digital health offerings from more than 20 vendors across lifestyle and specialized health categories. Instead of managing separate contracts with multiple vendors, employers work through a single agreement, which reduces procurement complexity and administrative burden. Employees can then access the programs their employer has purchased through the UnitedHealthcare® app and myuhc.com®, creating a more connected, centralized entry point into their digital health resources.
Choosing a carrier with the expertise to support consultants
Supporting the consulting and professional services industry means building on the momentum already in place — reinforcing the positive health care behaviors and utilization patterns employees are developing and making it easier to sustain them.
It’s important and in an employer's best interest to invest in a carrier that can help them design benefits packages that enable simpler, more affordable and supportive care for the employees of consulting and professional services. With decades of experience serving clients across a spectrum of industries, UnitedHealthcare has the insights and strategic expertise to help employers in the consulting and professional services industry get more value out of their health plan.
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