Health care reform: perspectives from large employers

Recently enacted health reform legislation will have mostly positive effects on large employers, as millions more Americans gain access to affordable insurance and, potentially, primary care. But the law will impose new administrative burdens and financing costs on employers, while raising concerns about provisions that could allow their lower-wage employees to obtain coverage through insurance exchanges. Given the need to restrain the rate of growth of health spending, the private sector, especially large employers, must collaborate with the public sector to drive delivery system reform. And every public program and exchange should appoint a chief value officer who reports quarterly on spending, cost drivers, and potential ways to contain costs.