Hinge Health: Preventing the High Cost of Fragmented Care

New data reveals the fragmented care journeys driving high costs and poor outcomes.

For many employees, finding the right care feels like navigating a broken maze. Without clear guidance, they drift toward high-cost, low-value interventions—a systemic inefficiency that drives up spend while delaying relief.

The State of MSK Care 2026 Report highlights a stark example of this misalignment in one of the top cost drivers for employers: musculoskeletal health.

While 92% of providers agree that physical therapy is the ideal first step for most pain, only 5% of patients actually start there. This disconnection fuels a $661 billion annual spend while leaving individuals to navigate their recovery alone.

True prevention means more than just avoiding injury: It requires unifying the care experience so that evidence-based treatment becomes the default path, not the exception.

This report pairs perspectives from 1,000 patients and 295 providers to map where these disconnects occur.

Read the full report to discover the four challenges breaking the care journey and the blueprint for fixing them.