<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[The Dish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://dish.andrewsullivan.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/author/sullydish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Health Insurers And&nbsp;Providers]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[
<p>Ezra Klein <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/12/why_health-care_reform_cant_co.html">describes</a> the interaction:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[T]he insurer doesn&#39;t really care to negotiate lower prices. They tried that in the late ’90s, and everyone hated them for it. It turns out that workers don&#39;t feel the cost of their health care because they think employers pay it, and employers don&#39;t care that much about cost increases because they take it out of wages. Neither group likes premium increases, but they don&#39;t really care. But everyone screams if you tighten networks and review care. As such, providers have pretty free rein. That&#39;s part of why we <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/11/an_insurance_industry_ceo_expl.html">pay so much more than any other country</a> per unit of care.</p>
</blockquote>
]]></html></oembed>