| Employers grappling with surging health care costs are embracing new tech-driven care arrangements and alternative payment models to cushion the financial blow to their workers, Axios' Arielle Dreher and I write. The big picture: Companies anticipate a median 7% increase in medical costs for next year but know passing that on to employees could be disastrous in a tight labor market, experts said. - Employers have warned that health care spending is on an unsustainable trajectory and that provider consolidation is limiting their ability to reduce costs.
What they're saying: "Employers have complicated decisions to make," said Cynthia Cox, vice president at Kaiser Family Foundation. - "You can only do so much cost shifting before somebody says, 'Look, the unemployment rate is 3+%. I can go get a job anywhere I want. You're not giving me the health benefit I need. I'll just go somewhere else," said Trevis Parson, chief actuary for Via Benefits at Willis Towers Watson.
State of play: The inflationary pressure is accelerating the adoption of apps, telehealth and other digital tools that streamline the process of connecting patients with providers, United Healthcare chief growth officer Brandon Cuevas told Axios. - More employers also are looking to more preventive care and early intervention, by adding advanced primary care vendors to their packages.
- "It's a way of providing an enhanced benefit to employees but not adding costs," said Dustin Grzeskowiak, a principal actuary at Milliman.
Looking ahead: Employers and health insurers are encouraging workers to catch up on screenings, annual physicals and immunizations post-pandemic, aware that the cost of deferred care could exacerbate an already tough cost environment. Yes, but: Employers could, of course, conclude prices have risen across the board so much that workers will simply have to take the hit. Read the rest. | 
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