While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased access to health insurance, U.S. employers and employees continue to struggle with rising health care costs and changing workforce demands. Premiums for employer-sponsored health care in the U.S. have skyrocketed over the past 10 years. In that same period, employee contributions, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs, have more than doubled.

However, higher costs are not leading to better outcomes. Aon research shows that 20 percent of health care consumers cite high costs as the major reason they have either declined coverage, stopped taking medications, or avoided care altogether.

If the U.S. health care system is to succeed, stakeholders across the health ecosystem must influence change in each market—employer, individual, and government. Failure to address both supply and demand issues across payers has historically resulted in cost-shifting to commercial payers, with employers and employees bearing the brunt of this shift. Aon believes that strengthening the employer-based system is a critical element of reform because it provides health coverage to 61 percent of Americans.