Workers Miss Out as Employers See Rare Savings on Health Costs

For the first time in decades, health-care costs for large employers went down in 2020—albeit modestly. But neither employees nor smaller companies benefited from the reduction in costs that resulted from fewer elective procedures and fewer visits to the doctor during the height of the pandemic.

Data compiled by insurance brokerage and human resources advisory firm Willis Towers Watson showed health-care costs for about 600 companies covering more than 2 million people by paying claims directly—known as self-insured coverage—were about 2% lower in 2020 than in 2019, Trevis Parson, chief health-care actuary, said in an interview.

“We’ve never seen that ...