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Employees feeling the pressure of balancing act between health coverage and cost

Employers may think they're doing a good job of shielding employees from increased costs, but employees are feeling the strain.

Stethoscope on money The four chief UM techniques cited in the report as potentially causing substantial problems for employees are prior authorization, step therapy, non-medical switching and copay accumulators. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Employers trying to achieve a balance between the health care coverage their employees need and efforts to control costs are increasingly putting pressure on employees, who are paying higher prices for less coverage and more obstacles. And that can be penny wise and pound foolish.

A report from nonprofit Aimed Alliance, “Costly Considerations: An Analysis of Employer Priorities When Selecting Health Benefits,” which sought input from both human resource professionals and executives who are involved in employee health benefits, finds that while HR professionals prioritize the quality of care provided by health plans, in the end they choose plans that shift high costs to employees, limit access, or both—despite being aware of such plans’ negative impact on employees.

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Marlene Satter

Marlene Satter

Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.

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