Star Metro - HealthJoy Moves Beyond Navigation to One End-to-End Benefits Operating System

CHICAGO, IL / ACCESS Newswire / May 13, 2026 / HealthJoy, a benefits operating system for employers, today announced new capabilities that signal the company's evolution from a benefits navigation platform to an AI-driven benefits operating system spanning the member's full health decision journey. The capabilities, part of a broader platform rollout, aim to bridge the gap between the benefits plans brokers and employers design and the decisions members make across the calendar year, from enrollment to in-the-moment recommendations to routine care.

"We founded HealthJoy more than a decade ago with a clear mission: help people navigate the healthcare experience and access higher-quality, lower-cost care," said Justin Holland, CEO of HealthJoy. "Today, with healthcare costs rising at twice the rate of inflation, outdated benefits infrastructure and reactive navigation tools are simply no longer enough to bend the cost curve. Employers need a systems-level solution that's present and anticipatory 365 days of a member's benefits journey, connecting the dots in ways that drive better outcomes and cost savings. We believe our benefits operating system and expanded capabilities will help employers achieve a more ambitious return on investment: zero trend increase on healthcare costs."

With today's announcement, HealthJoy is launching three initial capabilities that don't just show up in the moment of need, but across all the moments that can make a major difference to one's health and one's wallet. These features will be incorporated directly into HealthJoy's benefits operating system, trusted by more than 1,800 customers and over 1 million members.

When it comes to the benefits journey, enrollment is one of the biggest upfront opportunities to drive high-value care decisions. HealthJoy is announcing Enrollment Decision Support to deliver an AI-guided experience that helps members choose the right benefits plan for their individual needs and priorities. Rather than offer a generic table or decision tree, HealthJoy pulls in member information to personalize plan recommendations and comparisons, including against a spouse's benefits guide. For employers, it's as simple as uploading benefits guides and eligibility files, configuring any strategy levers, then letting HealthJoy take care of the rest. The same personalization that influences the benefits selection then carries through into HealthJoy's benefits operating system to support and steer members year round.

Containing costs requires both proactive guidance and in-the-moment incentives, which is what HealthJoy's new Wellness and Incentives Programs aim to solve for. Improving workforce health and wellness is a 24/7 endeavor, but programs often go undiscovered and unused by members. HealthJoy's Wellness Program incorporates curated wellness offerings into its benefits operating system, ensuring they're surfaced to the right member, at the right time, in the right context. The Incentives Program targets high-stakes care decisions like costly providers or unnecessary procedures, offering financial incentives so members are steered toward appropriate care. Both programs are configured by the employer and put into action by HealthJoy.

"These capabilities fit into a system designed to stay present not just when a member seeks out help, but every day of the year, every touchpoint in the benefits journey, every care decision," said Brian Astrachan, Chief Product Officer at HealthJoy. "With the latest advances in AI, we can go beyond navigation into anticipation, action, and meaningful outcomes for both employers and employees."

Powering HealthJoy and its new capabilities is JoyAI, an intelligent AI-driven engine trained on over a decade of real member interactions and thousands of benefits plans. JoyAI acts as the member's personal health assistant, proactively surfacing relevant benefits, anticipating individualized needs, and helping manage the logistics and follow up, leaving no part of the care journey unsupported.

Enrollment Decision Support will be rolling out in June with general availability in the fall 2026. The Wellness and Incentives Programs are slated to launch fall 2026. Additional capabilities will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information about the new capabilities and HealthJoy's benefits operating system, visit healthjoy.com or read more about HealthJoy's product roadmap on the blog.

About HealthJoy

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chicago, HealthJoy is a Benefits Operating System that closes the execution gap between the benefits strategy employers design and how employees actually use it. Trusted by more than 1,800 employers and over a million members nationwide, HealthJoy acts as the active engine of your plan - using proprietary AI to identify and engage members in need before a claim occurs, then executing the logistics to ensure the right care actually happens. Unlike siloed carrier apps and navigation tools that wait for members to come to them, HealthJoy's proactive model steers every member to the highest-value care across the entire benefits stack, backed by a 24/7 Healthcare Concierge team trained on each employer's specific plan design. The result: benefits strategies that finally perform as designed - and the data to prove it. HealthJoy is a Series D company backed by leading healthcare and technology investors.

CONTACT:

Iz Conroy | [email protected]

SOURCE: HealthJoy

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

M.Anderson--SMC