Employer Healthcare Costs Are Expected to Jump Again. Workers Could Feel It

Paul Pruitt of SHARx, which works with self-insured employers, said companies have tried to control healthcare costs by raising deductibles, asking workers to pay more and switching health plan administrators. But those moves haven’t stopped costs from climbing.

Part of the challenge, he said, is that employers are trying to spend less on healthcare while insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, hospitals and others make money from that spending.

“One person’s cost containment is another person’s revenue loss,” Pruitt said.

SHARx works by taking certain expensive drugs out of an employer’s traditional pharmacy benefit, then helping workers find other ways to obtain them.