Fed Up With Rising Costs, Big U.S. Firms Dig Into Healthcare

Some large U.S. corporations are targeting increasing health insurance coverage costs by managing their employees' healthcare themselves, reports Reuters . For example, since 2017 Cisco Systems has been offering workers a plan it negotiated directly with the Stanford Health medical system, under which physicians are required to keep costs down by closely tracking about 12 health indicators to prevent costly emergencies, and keep Cisco employees satisfied with their care. Stanford receives a bonus if they fulfill these goals, or pays Cisco a penalty if they do not. On Cisco's San Jose campus is a special clinic serving as the first point of contact for many employees and their families. Cisco says costs for enrollees in the Stanford plan are 10 percent lower than the conventional coverage still used by most of its workforce. To increase enrollment in their healthcare plans, Cisco, Intel, and Boeing have offered incentives such as extra money for health savings accounts or reduced monthly premiums and co-pays. In January, Amazon.com, JPMorgan Chase, and Berkshire Hathaway announced plans to form an independent company to improve healthcare for their approximately 750,000 U.S. employees, sparking speculation that they would displace health insurers and other industry intermediaries.