How rising health care costs are impacting employers
From left to right, moderator Mary Anne Cooper and panelists Orion Schultz, Angela Wilhelms and Patrick Priest discuss escalating health care costs and ways to improve affordability.
Employers across Oregon are facing growing pressure from escalating health care costs, a challenge shaped by many factors including increased demand for care, higher hospital and pharmaceutical prices and a mix of health policy decisions. Recent analysis from the Health Care Cost Institute shows prices in Oregon continuing to rise, putting strain on business budgets and the employees they support.
Regence sees these pressures reflected in the claims we receive, the double-digit reimbursement increases requested during provider contract negotiations and varying state and federal coverage requirements. These dynamics leave many organizations facing difficult decisions about how to manage benefit costs while continuing to support their workforce.
Recognizing the impact on Oregon’s business community, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon convened local experts and employer leaders to discuss what organizations are experiencing and explore practical ways to improve health care affordability. Panelists included:
- Angela Wilhelms, CEO and president, Oregon Business & Industry
- Patrick Priest, executive director, Citycounty Insurance Services
- Orion Schultz, director of product Go to Market, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon
Participants agreed that the current trajectory is challenging for employers, workers and local governments. Rising costs are influencing business decisions at every level and local governments are facing tradeoffs no community wants to make.
“As health costs increase, it makes it harder to continue delivering services. Cities and counties are having to do more with less,” said Priest.
“Research shows that when health care costs rise by just 1%, businesses outside the health care sector cut payroll by nearly half a percent,” said Wilhelms. “Employers across Oregon are making impossible choices about staffing and wages.”
A key theme was the growing need for a clearer, shared understanding of how coverage mandates and other policy changes affect health insurance premiums. Participants discussed the value of a formal review process that provides lawmakers with transparent, nonpartisan analysis of potential impacts to help ensure new requirements support both access and maintain affordability for employers.
“Even modest changes can add up quickly for an organization,” said Schultz. “When employers have a voice in these conversations and we all have the same information, we can make better decisions together.”
Regence will continue bringing employers, health care leaders and policymakers together to address the challenges ahead. As a longstanding partner to Oregon business, we’re committed to helping shape a more sustainable, predictable health and cost-effective care system.
