Rising Healthcare Costs Are Forcing Employers To Square Off Against Providers

It’s not just the patients themselves who are bearing the burden of increased healthcare costs. Since many people receive subsidized insurance through their jobs, employers are increasingly on the hook for a substantial sum of cash.

But they’re not just accepting the status quo. Instead, a growing number of employers are starting to advocate on their own behalf (and for their workers) to understand where all that money is going as well as how they can potentially cut costs.

Tough questions

Employers trying to manage staff, balance budgets, and provide goods or services to customers are being forced to carve out time to take on healthcare providers and insurers directly.

This often takes shape in the form of negotiations or even confrontations aimed at gaining some clarity within an industry that has long been obfuscated by medical jargon, bloated costs, and hidden charges.

Guy D’Andrea, who heads up the advocacy group Catalyst for Payment Reform, explained that such investigations have become requirements for businesses that want to continue offering healthcare coverage.

“We can improve quality and can make healthcare more efficient, but if we continue to see very significant increases in unit price … it just makes the job of providing health benefits incredibly challenging,” he said.

Uncertain results

In some cases, these negotiations have resulted in lowered premiums as part of a deal to continue a partnership between a provider and employer. But these fights often end in a stalemate, sometimes forcing employers to drop specific healthcare providers entirely.

Rosa Novo handles employee benefits for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and cut ties with an OB-GYN provider group when it attempted to raise its prices by a staggering 35%.

She explained: “We employers who are paying for this system, who are supporting this practice: We need to take a stand.”

Chris Agee May 14th, 2024

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