Inside the Selection Process: Why Networks Win with Payers

For every digital health contract awarded, dozens of solutions are turned away. The winners are no longer the slickest apps or the buzziest startups — they’re the providers embedded in curated networks that payers already trust.

The Buyer’s Reality: Too Many Vendors, Not Enough Bandwidth

Every payer and employer has a front-row seat to the explosion of digital health. In fact, as of 2023 there were more than 11,000 digital health apps available globally (IQVIA, Digital Health Trends 2023. From diabetes management to mental health, sleep to weight loss, there are hundreds of point solutions competing for attention. On paper, many of them show promising engagement or clinical results.

But here’s the problem: payers and employers don’t have the bandwidth to contract with 20 different vendors for 20 different conditions. In a 2024 survey by the Business Group on Health, 74% of large employers said that managing too many point solutions creates administrative burden and confusion for employees. Health plans echo the same concern — fragmented contracting and siloed reporting are barriers to scale.

The reality is that choice fatigue and contract complexity are forcing payers to simplify. They’re looking for trusted partners who can deliver multiple solutions through one relationship — not dozens of vendors that add friction.

What Payers Actually Prioritize

When health plans and employers decide which digital health partners to adopt, their criteria are sharper than ever. The decision-making process consistently revolves around three core questions:

1. Can you make contracting simple?

A 2023 KLAS survey found that payers increasingly prefer “one-to-many” contracting models because they reduce procurement timelines and administrative overhead. Networks that offer claims-based billing and benefit alignment eliminate friction and make adoption easier.

2. Can you prove cost containment?

Engagement metrics aren’t enough. A 2022 McKinsey report showed that over 60% of employers cite rising healthcare costs as their number one concern, outpacing even workforce shortages. Plans need evidence that a solution reduces avoidable spend — ER visits, specialty care, or costly prescriptions. Without claims-based validation, even the most engaging app is just another expense.

3. Will this integrate into my benefit design?

A 2023 Rock Health survey found that over half of employers now expect digital health offerings to integrate seamlessly with existing care pathways. Digital health must align with on-premises care and avoid duplication or fragmentation.

Why Networks Win

This is where networks outperform stand-alone vendors. Aggregators like Solera bring together a vetted group of digital health providers and connect them into the infrastructure payers already use.

Networks win for three key reasons:
- Reduced Complexity: One contract, many solutions. Instead of juggling dozens of agreements, payers onboard through a single, trusted relationship.
- Vetted Quality: Providers inside curated networks are already screened for outcomes, engagement, and scalability. This saves payers time and reduces risk.
- Scalable Impact: Networks can address multiple conditions across populations at once. For payers, that’s more value per dollar and fewer gaps in care.

It’s no surprise that in a 2023 survey by AHIP more than 70% of health plans said they prefer vendor consolidation and aggregation over expanding their roster of individual point solutions.

The Ripple Advantage

Solera was built on this premise: that the digital health ecosystem doesn’t need more apps fighting for attention — it needs a connected platform that makes scaling easier for everyone.

For providers, joining Solera’s network creates instant credibility with health plans. It signals that your solution has been vetted, integrated, and aligned with benefit and claims structures. It shortens sales cycles by removing barriers that stall one-off vendors. And it plugs your solution into a marketplace where demand already exists.

In other words: instead of knocking on payer doors one by one, providers in the Solera Network walk through them together.

What This Means for Digital Health Providers

The digital health industry has matured. What once worked in the early days — pilot projects, direct-to-consumer launches, and standalone contracts — no longer guarantees scale. The market is consolidating, and plans are choosing a few trusted partners instead of many disconnected vendors.

For digital health providers, the takeaway is clear:
- Outcomes matter, but outcomes without distribution stall.
- Engagement matters, but engagement without cost impact is not enough.
- Innovation matters, but innovation without integration won’t scale.

The fastest path to growth is not to go it alone, but to join a curated network that gives payers simplicity, trust, and measurable results.

Closing Thought

Every payer is in the business of reducing complexity and lowering costs. Networks make that possible in ways that stand-alone vendors cannot.

Digital health providers that want to scale must understand the new rules of selection: contracting ease, cost containment, and integration. Those who align with networks like Solera position themselves not just to be chosen, but to lead in the next era of digital health.

Because in today’s market, networks don’t just win with payers — they decide who gets to play.

Ready to simplify, scale, and stand out? Schedule a meeting with us at booth 5135 at HLTH to see how Solera’s digital health delivery network connects trusted digital health solutions with payers and employers — making contracting seamless, driving measurable cost savings and setting the standard for the next era of healthcare.  

‍