Without objective data, patients blindly follow the recommendations of their primary physicians, their co-workers or even billboards. And these practices continue despite broad awareness that preventable hospital errors kill tens of thousands of people each year, not every hospital is equally safe, and hospitals charge very different prices for the same procedures.

For too long, patients and administrators of health plans have remained completely disengaged from healthcare decisions, relying instead on third-party PPO networks to oversee "value" and determine their hospital networks, then depending on doctor referrals and hospitals to do what is right. Now, with more costs shifting to patients, there is a renewed demand for cost and quality information.  

One issue is on the policy side. In spite of quality being a major focus of health care reform, ensuring that care meets high quality standards remains a significant challenge. And while the Medicare system collects massive amounts of data on hospital outcomes, very little of this information is ever presented publicly in a way that can actually help consumers make better decisions.

On the pricing side, until today, patients with insurance have had no reason to care about the cost of care and have generally believed that "if it's more expensive, it must be better care."

Once employees have their own skin in the game there's a new incentive to look for high-quality, lower-cost options, not just for their own pocketbooks, but as a way of helping an entire company hold down the costs in which all workers share.

Consumers still can't totally make these complex care decisions on their own. Plan administrators are better positioned to ensure quality care is delivered, keeping costs down for both patient and plan while improving outcomes. Forward-thinking employers will take this process even one step further, going beyond just providing information to also offering travel allowances, extra time off, or even cash incentives to employees who choose higher-value providers.

Though the growth in health care spending has slowed in recent years, it still represents nearly one-fifth of all spending in the United States. Many experts believe these increasing costs are the single-biggest reason salaries have only recently begun to rebound from the 2008 recession.

Across the U.S. health care system, one of the easiest ways to reduce costs would be to redirect patients from low-quality/high-cost facilities to high-quality/low-cost alternatives. In the short term, we could save $100 per year per person –- or $25 billion annually –- with that one simple switch. In the long term, the dynamic effects of competition on hospital leadership would lead to better quality and cost of care.

The future affordability of the U.S. health care system depends on implementing exactly these sorts of changes. Today's employers have the opportunity to be on the leading edge of that movement.