Commercial prices relative to Medicare were lower under an employer-based reference pricing program
The United States leads the world in per-capita health spending, largely due to high and variable provider prices that are not consistently linked to quality. Relative to both peer nations and public insurers, prices paid by the approximately 160 million Americans with employer-sponsored insurance are particularly high. Collectively, employer-sponsored insurance accounts for $1.5 trillion in health care spending annually.5 Health insurance premiums and deductibles have grown far faster than both inflation and worker wages. The annual family premium has reached $26 000 and the average deductible for individuals purchasing insurance through the exchanges is nearly $3000.6 As an increasing share of worker compensation is funneled toward health care, workers have less in take-home pay.