STAT+: Fed up with exorbitant health costs, employers and workers are taking insurers to court
"Employers who are bearing the full risk of the cost of paying for health insurance for their employees are really getting fed up."
Companies, unions, and workers are at a breaking point over how much they pay for health coverage. And some are so exasperated that they’re fighting their own health insurance carriers in court.
A string of new lawsuits and judge orders highlights employers’ frustration with health insurers, who they believe are allowing hospitals, doctors, and other entities to charge flagrantly high prices with little to no pushback — knowing that employers and workers will ultimately pick up the tab. Employers also allege that carriers routinely block access to their own claims data, making it difficult or even impossible to know the full extent of what they’re being charged.
“Employers who are bearing the full risk of the cost of paying for health insurance for their employees are really getting fed up. The insurers who are acting as third-party administrators own no risk,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of the patient advocacy group Families USA who has worked with several employer groups. “I think this is the tip of the iceberg.”
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