SAN FRANCISCO AND CHICAGO – June 9, 2026 – Employers have invested heavily in navigation tools to support employees and their families, yet access to timely, high-quality care remains a struggle. Early findings from the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) and Handpicked Health offer an evidence-backed solution. An analysis of an initial member cohort shows that combining PBGH-certified Advanced Primary Care with Informed Referrals to top specialists produces Net Promoter Scores of 90+ and gets members to the right specialist in weeks, instead of months.
The model that works is independent Advanced Primary Care practices making specialty referrals based on quality. Early performance data shows that expert human guidance at the point of referral, not self-service directories, is the critical variable driving both member engagement and appropriate care utilization. Informed Referrals based on quality are the mechanism that makes this possible: matching each member to the right specialist based on outcomes data, condition-specific quality signals, and member preferences, instead of inaccurate provider directories.
“Advanced Primary Care is essential to better health, better access, and lower costs, but pairing it with quality-based specialty referrals is where purchasers are seeing the most impact,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, President & CEO of PBGH. “PBGH co-founded Handpicked Health because employers wanted a different model, one built by employers, for employers. Combining PBGH-certified Advanced Primary Care with Informed Referrals results in better outcomes at lower costs. Better care costs less — that’s real value for employers.”
Handpicked Health’s Informed Referrals match members to the top 25% of specialists based on useful quality signals, provider outcome data, and each member’s specific condition and preferences. This replaces the guesswork of self-serve provider directories with clinical precision. The result: higher first-visit diagnostic accuracy, greatly reduced unnecessary procedures, and faster treatment pathways.
“We use clinical data and employee preferences to match members with the right specialist,” said Dane Guarino, CEO and Co-Founder of Handpicked Health. “Informed Referrals, combined with PBGH-certified Advanced Primary Care, is what delivers a better member experience. Members get better care. Employers finally see light at the end of the unrelenting price-increase tunnel.”
These early findings reinforce what PBGH employer members have argued for years: primary care investment pays its greatest dividend when the referral chain is tuned for success. Dr. Neil Smithline, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, said, “A member with complex back pain needs the right spine specialist, not just any orthopedist. That distinction is where high-quality outcomes are achieved.”
Handpicked Health currently serves Fortune 500 employers nationally across more than 350,000 covered lives and continues to expand its network of PBGH-certified Advanced Primary Care providers. PBGH and Handpicked Health are currently presenting these early findings to employer coalition members: Advanced Primary Care with Informed Referrals is the most important benefit an employer can offer. The question for purchasers is no longer whether this model works, it’s whether they can afford to wait.
About the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)
PBGH is a nonprofit coalition representing over 40 private employers and public entities across the U.S. that collectively spend $350 billion annually purchasing health care services for more than 21 million Americans and their families. In partnership with its members, PBGH has a 30-year track record of incubating and scaling new, disruptive operational programs that lower health care costs and increase quality across the U.S. For more information, visit pbgh.org.
About Handpicked Health
Meaningful benefits start with getting people to the right care at the right time. Handpicked Health was built by employers for employers, because we believe no one should have to navigate that alone. We deliver a national Advanced Primary Care network as the foundation and human-guided navigation as the bridge for every member’s care journey. Together, members have a trusted relationship with a provider who knows them and Informed Referrals that ensure every specialist and surgical decision is high-value and in sync. The result is a benefits strategy that’s simple to offer and delivers on what employers need and what members deserve: 6x more members reaching high-value providers, better outcomes, and lower costs. Learn more at handpickedhealth.com.
Note on Data: Early findings are based on performance data from an initial member cohort engaged through Handpicked Health’s care navigation program across Fortune 500 employer clients. Analysis is ongoing and additional findings will be released as the dataset expands.
