The prices charged by hospitals and other health care providers are major drivers of growth in health care spending. From 2016 to 2020, inflation-adjusted prices grew nearly 25 percent for inpatient services and nearly 18 percent for outpatient services. Most employers believe health care spending negatively impacts their competitiveness and limits their ability to increase employees’ compensation. They can try to address high provider prices by changing the design of employee benefits. But after decades of rising premium contributions and cost sharing, employees may see any such changes as shifting even more spending onto them. Employers can also advocate for state and federal regulation to address prices, but they may wonder whether their employees want them to play that role. Public Agenda, with support from Arnold Ventures, set out to learn how employees understand health care costs and how they see employers’ roles in addressing providers’ pricing through benefit design and policy advocacy. In January and February 2023, Public Agenda conducted five focus groups with beneficiaries of employer-based insurance and conducted in-depth interviews with selected focus group participants. The methodology section of this report provides details about the focus groups and interviews. The report concludes with avenues for further research and employer engagement.
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