MADISON, WI. (April 15, 2025) – While known for its glazers, affordable bananas and welcoming staff, Kwik Trip should also be known for its innovative approach to healthcare.
The family-owned convenience store chain, with 38,000 employees (or coworkers as Kwik Trip calls them) and more than 900 locations across the Midwest, received The Alliance’s 2026 Healthcare Transformation Award for its ongoing efforts to improve healthcare benefits for coworkers and their families.
“Kwik Trip truly cares about the well-being of its coworkers. It’s not just a mission statement,” said Curt Kubiak, president and CEO of The Alliance. “They are constantly working to take their health benefits a step further, improving the lives and health of their coworkers and their families. They show other employers what’s possible when you commit to making a difference.”
The Healthcare Transformation Award, presented annually by The Alliance Board of Directors, recognizes employers, providers and organizations that drive meaningful change in the healthcare marketplace by improving quality, affordability and access.
“Taking care of people is rooted in our identity and culture. We take great pride in making our coworkers’ lives better,” said Bryan Trainor, senior manager of talent wellbeing and compensation at Kwik Trip. “That’s why we’re willing to try new things. We’re always asking, ‘What’s the next innovative step we can take to better care for our people?’”
VIDEO: Kwik Trip | 2026 Healthcare Transformation Award
Kwik Trip makes care more affordable for coworkers
Kwik Trip’s tiered benefit plan encourages coworkers to use high-value healthcare options, helping lower out-of-pocket costs and avoid unnecessary expenses. In many cases, coworkers can receive care with no deductible and zero out-of-pocket costs.
Targeted health initiatives have also delivered measurable savings in 2024. A diabetes management program achieved a 48% savings rate for engaged participants compared to those not enrolled. Another initiative, designed to reduce unnecessary emergency room and urgent care visits, saved $1.7 million.
Kwik Trip makes care more accessible for coworkers
Kwik Trip has opened three on-site clinics for coworkers and their families, offering primary care, preventive services, physical therapy, behavioral health and care management for chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
These clinics provide convenient, timely access to care, helping prevent more serious health issues and further reducing reliance on costly urgent care or emergency room visits. Kwik Trip plans to expand access even further by opening an on-site pharmacy in La Crosse this year, allowing it to purchase drugs and provide medications to coworkers at a lower cost.
Kwik Trip strengthens the overall healthcare marketplace
As a long-standing member of The Alliance, a cooperative that helps employers save on healthcare, Kwik Trip has actively supported other employers’ healthcare efforts. Their scale and reputation amplify The Alliance’s influence across the Midwest, helping enable stronger contracts with healthcare providers that benefit all employer-members of the cooperative.
Kwik Trip’s leaders have also shared their healthcare experiences and strategies with other employers and have advocated for healthcare reform that supports employers’ ability to provide effective health plans.
The award was presented at The Alliance 2026 Spring Symposium in Madison, where employers, healthcare professionals and industry leaders gathered to collaborate on improving healthcare and health benefits. Learn more at the-alliance.org.
About The Alliance
The Alliance serves as the voice for self-funded employers who want more control over their healthcare costs. Using Smarter NetworksSM and sophisticated data mining and analysis, they provide transparent, creative approaches to network and benefit plan design to unlock savings where others can’t – or won’t. The Alliance remains a trusted, objective partner for its 500+ employers and their brokers, who seek improved access to high-quality healthcare by contracting with a network of healthcare providers across the Midwest.
Contact:
Craig Sauer
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Phone: 608.210.6638
E-mail: csauer@the-alliance.org