Healthcare reform sees growing support from employers

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Daniel Acker/Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloom

As businesses look to get back to normal in a post-pandemic world, they’re eager to make changes to help them better support and deliver healthcare to their employees.

Employer support for healthcare reforms is growing, according to data from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. Indeed, 87% of employers surveyed find drug price regulation helpful and 79% of employers want more regulation related to surprise billing. Furthermore, 75% of employers are in favor of hospital price transparency, while 75% want hospital rate regulation.

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“While employers are very focused on a successful vaccination effort for their people right now, they are also taking a more strategic look at their health and benefits strategies going forward,” says Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance. “Plans are shaping up now for employers to improve health, equity and healthcare value over the next few years.”

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Employers are anticipating a return to work by the third quarter of the year, but those plans may be dependent on workplace vaccination rates, according to the survey. However, employers are cautious about mandating a vaccine for employees. Only 8% of employers anticipate mandating the vaccine for employees, the survey found.

Nearly one in three Americans still have no plans to get a COVID vaccine, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. To combat fear and misinformation, 81% of employers say they are providing information to employees about the benefits of getting inoculated. Seventy-six percent of employees are offering education for employees about their eligibility, 69% on safety and efficacy and 67% on how to access vaccines. Over 80% of large employers anticipate providing onsite COVID-19 vaccines before the year is over.

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“Employers recognize that they are among the most trusted sources of information for the general public around coronavirus and vaccines in particular,” says Dr. Dena Bravata, chief medical officer at Castlight Health, a healthcare solutions provider. “Many employers have a history of providing influenza vaccines on site. Now they are thinking about how [they can] do something similar for COVID vaccinations, whether by bringing it on site, or using the same mechanisms to help educate their population around the importance of safety and efficacy.”

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