One way or another, we’ve all felt the pain of high health care costs. Even if you haven’t had big medical bills yourself, you’ve shared the cost in other ways. For instance, many employees have felt the impact through:

• Bigger increases in employee medical contributions.
• Rising deductibles.
• Paying more in plan coinsurance (the percentage of medical costs that you pay).
• Financial penalties for non-emergency visits to the ER or name brand drugs.
• Elimination of some plan options or networks.
• Extra charges to cover a spouse under your employer’s plan.
• Less access to coverage when you retiree, because many employers can’t afford to offer it.
• Lower pay raises.
• Fewer local job opportunities, because some employers have moved jobs to areas with lower health care costs.
• Higher prices for everyday things you buy, because businesses are charging more in order to pay for their employees’ health care.