Building the Right Benefits Mix to Retain Staff at Your Practice

How Independent Practices Can Offer Affordable, High-Value Benefits Without Breaking the Bank

Why a thoughtful benefits strategy matters for retention

In 2025, the top priority for most employers is attracting and retaining talent while also managing health plan cost growth, which is estimated at 7 to 9 percent this year (aon.com). For small medical or physician-owned practices, getting the mix right means aligning employee needs with cost predictability.

Start with Employee Preferences & Budget

“Independent practices should start by understanding what their employees truly value,” says Ariana Mosquera, Benefits Administrator at Stitch PEO. Whether it's robust health plans, retirement options, or paid time off, a benefits strategy should be grounded in direct employee feedback. Core offerings should meet essential needs, while supplemental flexible options enhance perceived value without overspending.

Offer Core + Flexible Benefits

Core Benefits

• Health insurance remains a nonnegotiable priority, ranked #1 by employees (vitablehealth.com).
• Retirement savings, including tax-deferred accounts and established plans like cash balance plans, are rising in popularity. This is especially true in physician practices where high earners seek greater contribution limits (wsj.com).

Flexible Options

• Innovative funding models such as Individual Coverage HRAs (ICHRAs) or Qualified Small Employer HRAs (QSEHRAs) allow the employer to offer defined contributions to ACA-compliant coverage. This gives employees autonomy while helping the practice control costs (remodelhealth.com).
• EAPs, telehealth memberships, wellness resources, and mental health support are trending benefits that support employee well-being with relatively low cost and high perceived value (guardianlife.com).

A Look Ahead: 2025 Small Practice Trends

Small employers are increasingly adopting nontraditional benefit models. ICHRA adoption among employers with fewer than 50 employees rose 52% from 2024 to 2025, and 83% of those offering HRAs had not provided coverage before (linkedin.com).

Ariana notes, “More physician-owned practices are adopting nontraditional benefits models like ICHRAs and telehealth memberships to stay competitive.”

Employers are also increasing their contribution levels to boost benefit participation and signal value to employees (mcclone.com, marshmma.com).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ariana warns, “One of the biggest mistakes is designing a benefits package based solely on cost without understanding what employees actually want or need.”

Without ongoing feedback and proactive communication, benefits often go unused, undermining their value and wasting resources.

If You Can Add Only One Benefit

Ariana recommends introducing a low-cost medical insurance plan with a defined employer contribution strategy. This could include a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) or an Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA) model.

Even a modest monthly employer contribution can make a big difference in how employees perceive their value, supporting both recruitment and retention.

Improve Benefits Communication & Engagement

Clear, simple communication delivered in multiple formats makes a major difference in employee understanding and participation.

Ariana emphasizes, “Rather than handing out a dense benefits guide once a year, practices should focus on short, digestible content.”

Effective strategies include:

• Short benefit highlight summaries
• One-pagers on each benefit
• Live or virtual Q&A sessions
• One-on-one support during open enrollment

Track Usage & Stay Agile

Experts recommend embedding metrics and feedback loops into your benefits strategy. Analyze participation, claims data, productivity, and absenteeism to fine-tune plans over time (remodelhealth.com, marsh.com).

The Ideal Mix: A Blueprint for Small Practices

Final Thoughts: Balancing Value, Cost & Retention

Building a benefits strategy that helps you retain staff doesn’t require an unlimited budget—it requires intentionality. When you understand what employees value, use flexible funding options like ICHRAs, and invest in clear communication, you set your practice up for long-term stability.

As Ariana puts it, “Offer core benefits that meet essential needs and supplement with flexible, lower-cost options that enhance perceived value without overextending the practice financially.”

For a more detailed look at trends found across independent medical groups, download our 2025 Benefits Survey Report. We gathered insights from hundreds of practices to give an unprecedented look at what practices like yours are actually offering.