The Purchaser Business Group on Health is launching a massive data project that aims to make it easier for employers to get their arms around what they're actually paying for healthcare.
The organization unveiled its Health Care Data Demonstration Project on Tuesday morning, which is built on both hospital price transparency data and transparency in coverage information, establishing tools that employers can use to more accurately determine a "fair price" for healthcare services.
The demonstration leans on five large employers, including aerospace company Boeing and technology firm Qualcomm, PBGH said in an announcement. Armed with more accurate pricing data, employers can see where their health plans or third-party administrators may be falling short in managing costs.
“For decades, the healthcare industry has fought to keep pricing hidden because opacity enabled them to overcharge employers and employees,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO of PBGH, in the press release
"This project finally puts the truth in employers’ hands. It shows them not just what they paid, but what they should have paid—and that discrepancy is where hidden fees and profiteering live," Mitchell said. "It is transformative because it enables employers to fulfill their fiduciary duties, hold vendors accountable and drive down costs for their workforce."
The organization's model is built to offer actionable insights to employers, allowing them to compare costs to national benchmarks, identify where they may be overcharged and find high-quality provider partners.
Sabina Mahoney, senior benefits manager with Qualcomm, said in the announcement that the data "have already enabled us to ask questions of our carriers and uncover pricing inconsistencies."
“No other source currently provides this level of actionable, comparable information," Mahoney said.
To build the platform, PBGH tapped partners like Milliman, Embold Health, The Leapfrog Group and EY, and secured critical funding and support from Peterson Center on Healthcare. The partners worked together to collect and analyze key claims, price transparency and quality data.
The data project launches as employers face ongoing, steep price increases for healthcare. A survey from the Business Group on Health, another leading employer organization, estimated that costs could rise by 9% in 2026, following two years of cost increases that outpaced employers' forecasts.
Employers are also under greater scrutiny for their fiduciary duties in the healthcare space as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
PBGH said it plans to continue to scale the project to additional employers over the coming months.
“The reality is that people are struggling to afford care, and employees have lost decades of wage growth to health costs," Mitchell said. "This project proves that when employers can see the truth, they can act and the industry knows it, which is why they are still fighting transparency despite the law."