Health care benefits costs keep rising, and employers need to do whatever they can to keep a lid on these expenses before they continue to spiral further out of control. A combination of inflation that's impacting many types of products and services, tight labor markets, consolidation among providers, the continued health-related impacts of the pandemic, and newer, more expensive drugs are all among the reasons why. 

Whatever the cause may be, at least three surveys have shown health care costs likely to rise by 6%, give or take, in the next year. One taken by the consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, for example, finds that U.S. employers projected a 6% rise in health care costs in 2023, compared with the 5% they have experienced this year, and that two-thirds of U.S. employers (67%) plan to prioritize health care cost control over the next three years.