U.S. employers are carefully analyzing price data to ensure they get the best health insurance prices for their employees; this is causing tension with some hospitals, according to an Aug. 2 report from Bloomberg Law.
According to data from CMS, in 2020, hospital spending in the U.S. made up $1.3 trillion, and employers paid nearly $409 billion of that spent by private insurers.
Data shows that employers pay hospitals significantly more than Medicare, which results in employers pushing back to mitigate price increases. Now, employer health plans and insurers must make their negotiated prices public, which adds new pressure to get the best price.
Marilyn Bartlett, a senior policy fellow with the National Academy for State Health Policy, said employers quickly pick up on the discrepancies.
"The more transparency we get out there, the more this pushback’s going to come," Ms. Bartlett said.