Case Study: State Employee Health Plan achieves 29% lower ER utilization and best‑in‑class, cost‑sustainable benefits with Castlight Health

State Employee Health Plan’s Experience with Best-in-Class Benefits at a Sustainable Cost

The State Employee Health Plan, serving 240,000 members including employees, dependents and retirees, sought to deliver best‑in‑class benefits at a sustainable premium amid significant access challenges. The state ranks in the bottom 10% nationally for healthcare quality, has a large rural population with provider shortages, and faces wide social determinants of health and limited internet/smartphone access that make engagement and care navigation difficult.

To address this, the plan partnered with Castlight to provide a single digital hub plus human Care Guides that centralize benefits, deliver personalized recommendations, and connect members to high‑value care. Since adopting Castlight in 2023 the program has driven strong engagement (71% of households registered, 83% established a care team), produced a +77 NPS, delivered personalized recommendations to 98% of users, and achieved a 29% lower emergency department utilization versus non‑users, helping improve outcomes and contain costs.