Cost-Containment

But the No Surprises Act claim dispute system is pounding self-funded plans.

Federal agencies hope the initiative will modernize approval processes at self-insured health plans.

Government analysts predict first-year compliance costs for a typical small firm will exceed $300,000.

"More than half of Americans expect they'll help care for a loved one someday, yet many families never talk about what that care might look like," said John Roberts, chief field officer at Northwestern Mutual.

This shift to paying for performance aligns with the CMS' new ACCESS model.

Democratic lawmakers are asking how many enforcement staffers the Employee Benefits Security Administration has and what those employees are doing.