Employers Pushed to Demand More of Insurers as Health Costs Jump (1)

Health policy groups are urging employers to get tough with the insurers that administer their health plans.

They say employers should insist on information about prices charged by medical providers and demand the elimination of agreements between insurers and hospitals that force coverage of inefficient facilities in health plan networks.

The push comes as companies are increasingly frustrated in their attempts to rein in inflationary health-care costs. Total health-care spending by employers and their employees grew 4.4% in 2018 to an all-time high of $5,892 per person, an increase of 18.4% since 2014, according to a recent report from the ...