Loading...Loading...November 14, 2023
During the 2023 Utah Legislative Session, employers and producers rallied to defeat S.B. 184, Prescription Cost Amendments, which would have increased health care spending by millions of dollars through new limits on health plan formulary and benefit design. We’re working to make sure that effort marked the start of a long-term initiative to fight back against rising costs.
According to recent data from KFF, the average employer spends over $17,000 per employee on family coverage annually, with employees spending an additional $6,575+. Health care costs have outpaced wage growth and inflation for decades, crowding out spending that could otherwise be invested in business growth or go toward higher employee salaries and expanded benefits.
It’s clearly time to continue addressing escalating health care costs, and we can look to other states for guidance. This year, the Indiana Legislature passed H.B. 1004, which created a hospital cost benchmark, banned unwarranted facility fees, established a cost oversight task force, and increased price and financial reporting by hospitals. A recent Wall Street Journal article showed how large employers, like Cummins and Chrysler parent Stellantis, partnered with outside groups to support the bill’s passage. Their public support overcame vigorous opposition by the state’s hospitals.
A similar effort by Texas Employers for Affordable Healthcare led to the passage of H.B. 711. That law prohibits anticompetitive hospital contract provisions, like anti-steering, anti-tiering, gag clauses and most-favored-nation requirements. These efforts show that employers in Indiana and Texas are taking action to reverse the tide. Employers in other states have taken notice and are spearheading similar endeavors.
Complicating matters in Utah is the reality that health systems are Utah’s #1 and #2 employers and rightfully regarded highly in the community. Further, our state lacks any business groups or chambers with a clear focus on employer health care spending. The recently formed One Utah Health Collaborative is focused on holding down costs but is dominated by health care provider interests.
At Regence, we’re also doing everything possible to hold the line on costs. But we face substantial headwinds from drug manufacturers and provider systems seeking higher reimbursement. As a tax-paying nonprofit health plan, Regence, and others like us, has limited capacity to absorb unfair cost increases; instead, those costs are redirected onto you in the form of higher premiums and cost-sharing.
That’s why we established our Employer Health Policy Council. It aims to be a forum for learning about issues and a tool to help employers and producers advocate for better value with the legislature and executive agencies. A recent Council update covered our efforts to address Utah’s high ambulance charges.
We're now preparing for the 2024 Legislative Session. Lawmakers are likely to introduce bills that further protect providers' and drug manufacturers’ interests at the expense of health care consumers.
Increasing employer participation in setting Utah health policy is the best way to make sure lawmakers take action to improve affordability, and we invite you to get involved with our Council. To learn more about how to join or find other ways to participate with policymakers, please contact our Public Affairs and Policy team by clicking here.