Fresh healthcare insights

More inclusive health benefits for a diverse workforce

Health equity is no longer just a moral priority, it is a business imperative. Employers are realizing that the effectiveness of their benefits depends not only on what programs they offer but also on who can realistically access them. Too often, traditional care models leave people behind. A parent juggling work and caregiving may not have time for midday appointments. A rural employee may live hours away from the nearest clinic. A veteran or minority employee may not feel comfortable in traditional care settings. These gaps compound, resulting in lower engagement, worse health outcomes, and rising costs. Digital care has the power to change that. By bringing high-quality, clinically validated musculoskeletal (MSK) and women’s health care into the home, anytime and anywhere, employers can offer truly inclusive health benefits that meet the needs of today’s diverse and distributed workforce.

September 19, 2025 • 10 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Enterprise employee health benefits plans: How to deliver real ROI at scale

Large employers face an uphill climb to deliver health benefits plans that truly work. Costs continue to rise, yet many traditional solutions struggle to prove they deliver results that matter to finance leaders. Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions illustrate the challenge clearly. They are the top healthcare spend for U.S. employers, ahead of diabetes and cancer combined.¹ The costs extend well beyond medical claims. Chronic pain drives absenteeism, short-term disability, and turnover, all of which drain productivity when companies need their people at their best. Recent research shows that employers in the U.S. waste an estimated $10.3 million every hour on low-value MSK care.² This waste occurs when employees skip early intervention, abandon treatment plans, or rely on fragmented, reactive care pathways.

September 12, 2025 • 8 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Insurance coverage for physical therapy

Most health plans include some level of coverage for physical therapy. But “covered” does not always mean affordable or easy to access. The details in the fine print drive outcomes for employees and costs for employers. Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions like back, knee, and shoulder pain are among the top drivers of employer healthcare spend. Traditional coverage design often fails to deliver value when members skip care, drop out early, or escalate to surgery. With the right structure, conservative PT becomes a lever for better outcomes and lower total cost. This guide explains how PT coverage and reimbursement work, how referrals and authorizations influence access, and why early conservative care matters for ROI.

September 12, 2025 • 11 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Employer’s guide to reducing healthcare costs: smarter strategies for 2026

Healthcare costs are rising faster than wages, faster than inflation, and faster than many CFOs can plan for. U.S. employers already spend about $1.2 trillion each year on employee health benefits¹. By 2031, large employers could see healthcare costs reach more than 9% of their total revenue². Many organizations feel they’ve done all they can to manage this burden. Common cost-reduction tactics see health plan administrators raise deductibles, increase cost sharing, or narrow networks. But year after year, the same drivers keep pushing spend higher. One driver is especially hidden: musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. These are injuries and disorders that affect the body’s movement, like back pain, neck pain, knee pain, shoulder issues, and so much more. This guide breaks down why employer healthcare costs keep climbing, how MSK pain drains budgets and productivity, and what smart plan design can do to fix it.

September 12, 2025 • 14 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Innovative employee benefits ideas that deliver strong ROI

In today's fiercely competitive labor market, the perks and benefits an employer offers are often the deciding factor for top-tier candidates. With remote work, global hiring, and salary transparency eroding traditional hiring advantages, benefits have become a key differentiator. But not all benefits are created equal. Employers must distinguish between performative perks and benefits that deliver meaningful, measurable value to both employees and the business. The shift in worker expectations is real and data-backed. According to MetLife's 2023 Employee Benefits Trends Study, 61% of employees say that benefits are the deciding factor in accepting a new job offer.¹ Nearly 73% of workers say they would stay longer at a company that offers high-quality health benefits.²

September 12, 2025 • 9 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: what it is and why it matters

Pelvic pain is an invisible struggle for many women, often misunderstood, dismissed, or simply endured in silence. For those navigating this deeply personal health challenge, pelvic floor physical therapy offers hope—not as a quick fix, but as a medically grounded, empowering path toward lasting relief. Pelvic pain can be disruptive and isolating. It affects how you move, sit, exercise, go to the bathroom, or engage in intimacy. It can shadow your everyday life, silently impacting your well-being and confidence. But here’s the truth: pelvic pain is common, and more importantly, treatable. One of the most effective and evidence-based treatments available today is pelvic floor physical therapy. This guide is designed to help you understand what pelvic floor therapy is, how it works, and why it might be the solution you've been searching for. You deserve answers, and more importantly, you deserve care.

September 10, 2025 • 10 min read

Jennesa Atherton

How HR leaders can maximize the ROI of employee health benefits plans

Every benefits leader knows the promise: invest in employee health, and you get healthier people, fewer absences, and lower plan costs. But reality rarely works out that neatly. Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, the number one healthcare cost driver in the U.S., quietly drain billions each year in unnecessary spend, lost productivity, and avoidable surgeries.¹ In fact, U.S. employers waste an estimated $10.3 million every hour on low-value MSK care, much of it from surgeries that could be prevented with earlier and better support.² At the same time, CFOs demand evidence of ROI, and employees expect convenient care that fits their lives. HR teams sit squarely in the middle, under pressure to contain costs, prove value, and keep people satisfied and productive.

September 10, 2025 • 7 min read

Sword Editorial Team

How to maintain muscle during weight loss

Losing weight often feels like progress. The number on the scale drops, clothes fit better, and motivation climbs. But if your plan isn’t protecting muscle retention at the same time, that progress may not last. Most people focus on pounds lost. But few stop to ask what kind of weight they’re actually losing. Without the right strategy, weight loss doesn’t just reduce fat. It can also reduce lean muscle mass, the very tissue that keeps you strong, stable, and metabolically healthy. This is especially common in programs that rely on calorie restriction alone or medications like GLP-1s that suppress appetite¹. The problem with losing muscle is clear. Less muscle means a slower metabolism, lower energy, and a higher risk of regaining fat². Without building habits of regular movement, you face the risk of losing muscle and developing pain, fatigue, or instability³. Maintaining muscle during weight loss isn’t optional. It’s essential if you want sustainable results and a stronger, healthier body.

September 7, 2025 • 9 min read

Morgan Hollis, MS, RDN

Sword Health’s NPS results rated exceptional in the healthcare industry

Net Promoter Score (NPS) starts with a simple question: “Would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?” For most healthcare vendors, this answer is underwhelming. At Sword Health, it’s one of our strongest proof points. In our latest survey, Sword Health earned an NPS score of 82, which is double the industry average¹. This reflects the exceptional care and the outstanding results we provide for our clients. With 100% of responses scoring Sword a 7 or above² our clients are more than satisfied, reflecting back the level of quality of our service. NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a simple way to measure loyalty. But in healthcare, it’s not so simple to earn.

August 28, 2025 • 7 min read

Sword Editorial Team

Digital pelvic health care: The accessible, effective alternative to traditional treatment

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is among the most common and least addressed health challenges women face. One in three women experience PFD symptoms like urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, or urgency¹. Despite its prevalence, pelvic care often goes unspoken and untreated. The reasons are structural and social. Traditional in-clinic pelvic care is hard to access, time-consuming, and deeply stigmatized. Women navigating work, caregiving, and daily demands struggle to make time for care, especially when it means traveling to a clinic, taking time off work, and discussing intimate symptoms in a public setting. Digital pelvic health care changes that. With app-based therapy, virtual physical therapist guidance, and clinically validated technology, programs like Bloom by Sword Health offer care that fits women’s lives, not the other way around.

August 27, 2025 • 10 min read

Jennesa Atherton

How to minimize pelvic floor treatment costs with proactive digital care

Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) are among the most prevalent, underdiagnosed, and expensive conditions impacting women today¹. For employers and health plans, this means hidden costs in the form of surgical claims, specialist referrals, and pharmacy spend. All of this can be mitigated with earlier, more accessible care. Yet most care models wait until symptoms are severe to offer treatment, presenting a huge missed opportunity for employers and health insurers alike. The key to reducing pelvic floor treatment costs lies in shifting some investment into proactive pelvic health treatment to reduce symptoms and pains early before treatment requirements and costs of intervention escalate.

August 27, 2025 • 8 min read

Sword Editorial Team

The hidden cost of pelvic floor dysfunction in the workplace

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) isn’t just a private health issue. It’s a workplace problem hiding in plain sight. Despite affecting one in three women at some point in their lives¹, PFD often goes undiagnosed, untreated, and unspoken. But the impact of pelvic floor pain shows in the form of medical claims, absenteeism, presenteeism, and lost productivity. For employers, the financial cost is substantial. For women, the burden is immense. For women, the toll is personal, emotional, and threatening to their career trajectory. Pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, and discomfort associated with these conditions is life-altering. PFDs have an ongoing impact on health, confidence, and career continuity for too many women in the workplace.

August 27, 2025 • 13 min read

Sword Editorial Team