As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers have joined in on efforts to take hold of the issue. With healthcare benefits expected to reach $15,000 per employee in 2019, employers are playing an increasing activist role in exploring and offering new ways of delivering healthcare to their employees, according to an annual survey from the National Business Group of Health. The survey also found that employers expect that virtual healthcare and technology will play a major role in how healthcare is delivered in the coming years.

The survey of 170 large employers indicated that, in the next year, employers project the total cost of providing medical and pharmacy benefits will increase 5% for the sixth consecutive year. Employers will cover approximately 70% of those costs, which are largely driven by high cost claims, specialty pharmacy, and specific diseases or conditions, such as cancer.