Consumer Driven Health Care

Shining a light on one of the biggest mysteries in health care is a noble goal. Here's how employers and benefits advisors can build on the transparency momentum to transform the system.

The main cause, experts agree, is the underlying weakness of the generic drug industry, which are made mostly overseas because U.S. manufacturers are setting their sights instead on high-priced drugs with plump profit margins.

More than 70,000 Zantac lawsuits have been filed against the drugmaker and the other pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Sanofi, that sold the heartburn drug.

Health plan sponsors were more liberal in offering a broader range of choices to plan members than were employers, however, sponsors were more likely to shift costs to members than were employers, says a new report.

The Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expenses (CHOICE) Arrangement Act would allow business owners to reimburse employees for individual health insurance plans - and would make that coverage portable.

With bipartisan consensus in Congress that Americans need help on health care costs, it's likely bills will be introduced to expand the opportunity for individuals to contribute to a health savings account, says the ECFC.