Employer Health Costs May Rise 9% This Year
But a separate study says better health care transparency could save more than $100 billion in the health system over 10 years.
Los Angeles Times: Employer Health Costs To Rise Nearly 9% This Year, Study Finds
Employer health care costs are expected to rise nearly 9 percent in 2014, a slight improvement over recent years, according to a new survey. However, that modest decline doesn't offer much relief to companies and their employees, who are seeing health insurance costs take a bigger bite out of their paychecks (Terhune, 5/15).
Politico Pro: Report Calculates Huge Savings From Health Care Transparency
Health care costs need to be more transparent not just for patients, but for doctors, health plans, employers and policymakers who could play an even larger role in forcing efficiencies on an opaque and often wasteful system, according to a report released Thursday. Steps to make cost information broadly available, including standardized databases with comprehensive claims information from private health plans, could save more than $100 billion over 10 years, the report finds. “Buying health care is a team sport,” said Chapin White, a RAND Corp. researcher who was one of the report’s authors, during an event releasing the study in Washington, D.C (Norman, 5/15).