New scorecard for employers works to lower healthcare costs for Americans

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(The Center Square) – Made possible by President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order on healthcare price transparency, the State Financial Officers Foundation and the Health Transformation Alliance released a new scorecard to audit employer healthcare spending and reduce healthcare costs for Americans.

State Financial Officers Foundation CEO OJ Oleka told The Center Square that the “exciting new scorecard gives companies the opportunity to demonstrate to shareholders and plan participants their level of fiduciary leadership in oversight of their employees' healthcare benefits.”

“Companies that are true leaders will value price competition, cut out unnecessary third-party expenditures, welcome independent audits, and be open to cost-effective alternative care when available,” Oleka said.

“Since most Americans receive their health care benefits through their employer, this scorecard is a critical tool to make sure corporations take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously and do their part to help reduce the cost of healthcare for all Americans,” Oleka said.

The scorecard – entiteld the Corporate Health Plan Fiduciary Scorecard – is intended as a “free, directional, self-administered tool that helps large employers take stock of how they are putting available healthcare pricing data to work,” according to its website.

Employers who complete the scorecard are encouraged to submit them to the State Financial Officers Foundation to “show their investors and the public that they take their fiduciary responsibility seriously.”

Oleka said that “state financial officers are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of stewarding every dollar in each public pension fund with shares in public companies, so helping large employers bring down healthcare costs is a major priority for these elected leaders.

“As trusted fiscal watchdogs, they recognize that transparency and accountability are indispensable for reducing out-of-control costs, and essential elements of any employer-provided healthcare plan,” Oleka said.

CEO of Health Transformation Alliance Rob Andrews told The Center Square that “employers spend billions of dollars on healthcare, and they have an obligation to understand where that money is going and what they are getting for it.”

According to the State Financial Officers Foundation, U.S. employers spend “roughly $1.3 trillion each year on health benefits.”

Andrews said that “there are more opportunities for employers to influence rising healthcare costs than many realize” and that “this scorecard can help turn price transparency into action, giving [employers] a chance to act on that influence.”

“Having access to better information gives employers the ability to ask harder questions about their healthcare spending and demand greater value for employees and their families,” Andrews said. 

The scorecard is made possible by Trump’s February 2025 executive order on maximum price transparency in healthcare, as well as his final rule issued Monday on Transparency in Coverage that intends to bring accountability and transparency to health care.