Increased health care spending "contributed to 15% of the observed increased enrollment in high-deductible plans" between 2010 and 2016. (Image: Shutterstock)
The steady increase of health care costs has lowered wages for employees and caused other shifts in benefits, according to the authors of a new Rand Corp. study.
The working paper —"Who Pays for Health Care Costs? The Effects of Health Care Prices on Wages"—confronted the dynamics of hospital mergers on health care costs and wages in the workforce. Employers, the authors concluded, reduce wages as a response to rising health care costs.
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Mike Scarcella
Mike Scarcella is a senior editor in Washington on ALM Media's regulatory desk. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @MikeScarcella. Mike works on a slate of newsletters: Supreme Court Brief | Higher Law | Compliance Hot Spots | Labor of Law.
