Taking Control: Why Employers Must Stop Paying for Healthcare Blindly

We recently received a call from one of our clients asking if he could exclude a regional medical facility from his group plan. The answer? Yes!

Why? Because he controls his health plan—not a third-party insurance company.

His concern? This regional hospital is billing his plan $80,000 for a knee replacement—more than double what we’ve typically seen for the same procedure. This isn't an isolated incident; we've witnessed repeated cases of inflated pricing from this facility. He’s pushing back and will likely secure price concessions, but the real victory here is that he knows his costs, understands what they’re for, and can identify who is billing what. Isn’t that how any business monitors and manages expenses in every other department?

So why do so many employers accept healthcare costs blindly?

The primary reason healthcare costs continue to spiral out of control is simple: Too many companies have been hypnotized into paying for healthcare, prescriptions, and related services without understanding actual costs. Instead, they funnel money into inflated insurance premiums without question.

The lack of knowledge surrounding how health insurance and PBMs operate behind the scenes is staggering. We frequently meet seasoned HR professionals who don’t even know what a PBM is or how it works. If the individuals responsible for structuring a company’s health plan don’t fully understand these middlemen, then the executives making final decisions are just as uninformed. Many groups think they’re making informed choices simply because they recognize insurance buzzwords, but when it comes to truly understanding grassroots costs, little is known—and even less is questioned.

Here’s the truth: There are better ways to manage group health costs than just collecting quotes from agents. The solutions are straightforward—the challenge is getting people to listen.

If you’re ready to stop overpaying and start controlling your healthcare expenses the way you control every other business cost, let’s talk.

The Ecchic Group | 314-997-8865 | www.ecchic.com