PRESS RELEASE: America’s Large Employers Provide Comments to Improve Affordability

HR Policy Association and the American Health Policy Institute Recommendations Promote Better Coverage and Lower Costs

400 of the largest employers in the United States, releases its official comments sent today to U.S. Representatives leading the Heathy Future Taskforce in response to a January 10, 2022, request for information asking for legislative proposals that will make health care more affordable.

The HR Policy Association is the leading organization representing chief human resource officers of 400 of the largest employers in the United States. Collectively, their companies provide health care coverage to over 20 million employees and dependents in the United States. The American Health Policy Institute, a part of the Association, examines the challenges employers face in providing health care to their employees and recommends policy solutions to promote affordable, high-quality, employer-based health care. The Institute serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers.

Authors of the comments, D. Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the American Health Policy Institute and vice president, health & employment policy of HR Policy Association and Margaret Faso, director, health care research and policy of the American Health Policy Institute said, “Private business health expenditures were forecast to increase an average 4.8 percent per year for the next seven years before the overall inflation rate went from 1.2 percent to 6.0 percent over the past year. If previous trends hold, employers could be facing health care costs rising 7 to 9 percent in 2023, a trajectory that will make it increasingly difficult for employers to offer affordable, quality health coverage. Going forward, all stakeholders – employers, providers, insurers, intermediaries, individuals, and government must be willing to compromise and be accountable for health care reforms that will benefit all Americans.”

The comments include recommendations to expand access to affordable coverage and care, foster innovation, increase quality and transparency while preserving employer-sponsored health coverage, including:

I. Simplify, expand and codify the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) rule;

II. Implement a National Patient Safety Board to reduce medical errors;

III. Strengthen ERISA preemption while providing greater flexibility to states;

IV. Remove barriers to implementing value-based care arrangements;

V. Codify in one place the hospital transparency rule, the transparency in coverage rule, and other price and quality data measures; and

VI. Prohibit anticompetitive practices in the health care system.

“We look forward to working with the Taskforce to develop legislative proposals that will enable companies to continue to provide high-quality health care benefits to over 177 million Americans,” said Mr. Wilson and Ms. Faso.

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To read the full comment letter, visit: https://www.hrpolicy.org/downloads/22-02_Comments_GOP_HC_Task_Force_Affordability_RFI.pdf

HR Policy Association is the lead organization representing chief human resource officers of major employers. The Association consists of 400 of the largest corporations doing business in the United States and globally, and these employers are represented in the organization by their most senior human resource executive. Collectively, their companies employ more than 11 million employees in the United States, over nine percent of the private sector workforce, and 20 million employees worldwide. They have a combined market capitalization of more than $8 trillion. These senior corporate officers participate in the Association because of their commitment to improving the direction of human resource policy. Their objective is to use the combined power of the membership to act as a positive influence to better public policy, the HR marketplace, and the human resource profession. For more information visit www.hrpolicy.org.

American Health Policy Institute is a non-partisan non-profit think tank that examines the practical implications of health policy changes through the lens of large employers. The Institute examines the challenges employers face in providing health care to their employees and recommends policy solutions to promote the provision of affordable, high-quality, employer-based health care. The Institute serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers. Their mission is to develop impactful strategies to ensure that those purchasing health care are able to not only bend the cost curve, but actually break it, by keeping health care cost inflation in line with general inflation. americanhealthpolicy.org.