From Cost Shift to Care Shift: Tom Armani on Value-Based Primary Care and Personalizing Benefits

Beyond the Paycheck · Apr 14, 2026 · 21m · transcript

Summary

High-deductible plans were meant to save money—but for many employees, they’ve created “functional uninsured” risk and delayed care that drives bigger costs later. Tom Armani, most recently Director of Global Benefits at Dayforce and a 20+ year benefits leader, unpacks how employers can reverse the affordability crisis while improving outcomes. He explains why self-funded benefits should be run like a small business, the misaligned incentives across carriers, providers, and PBMs, and how value-based advanced primary care can lower total cost of care. Tom shares a practical model he…