Save the Date: All-Stakeholder Year-in-Review, Dec. 3

EFI members are invited for a very special All Stakeholder meeting on December 3rd for a private screening of The Tenderness Tour film. It’s a beautiful story of award-winning activist, Richard Propes, a cancer-survivor, double amputee with spina bifida, traveling through Indiana on a ‘Tenderness Tour,’ to raise awareness about the issues of the medical debt crisis in Indiana and the United States. Richard Propes traveled 150 miles across Indiana in 2024 for the Tenderness Tour raising over $100,000 to eliminate debt for Indiana families.

EFI member Jenni Nolan, who founded Clear Healthcare Advocacy, is featured in the film and will be joined by Andie Redwine, the film’s director.

IMBD Page
Movie Website

If you are an EFI member and haven’t received a calendar invitation for the meeting please contact Sara Otte.

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Recap: September 10th All-Stakeholder Meeting

What does it take for employers to get real value from our health care system? That question guided our discussions at our September All-Stakeholder Meeting, where we explored three critical areas shaping employer health care strategy: prescription drug affordability, fiduciary risk and responsibility, and partnering for value. 

The key takeaway: employers have more leverage than they think.

By applying new laws, transparency tools, and fiduciary principles, you can drive real accountability and value. Future meetings will build on these insights, and new resources are being developed to help employers put them into practice.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to such thoughtful dialogue! Download the slides.

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A turning point in health care for employers and patients

Fueled by EFI’s data and advocacy, Indiana took bold steps to curb sky-high hospital prices and strengthen accountability. From banning hidden facility fees to requiring fair pricing and fiduciary oversight, these wins place Indiana at the forefront of national health care reform. Read the op-ed >

Employers

• Health care costs are soaring. Blame insurers, drug companies — and your employer (NPR)
• The Price Increases That Should Cause Americans More Alarm (KFF)
• Heartland Highlight: Longtime Hoosier activist tackles medical debt in new documentary (Indy Star)
• Beyond The Bill: The Hidden Economic Toll Of High Commercial Provider Prices (Health Affairs)
• A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K (KFF)
• GLP-1s, cancer care are driving higher employer health care costs in 2026 (STAT)
• Large employers forecast ‘daunting’ 9% hike in healthcare costs next year (Healthcare Dive)
• The ‘quiet alarm bell’ on U.S. health costs: Employers are backed into a corner, and workers are paying the price (Fortune)
• Employer health care expenses expected to soar next year (CFO)
• Medical debt tops $2 billion for Hoosiers. Experts say it’s likely higher (WFYI)

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Policy

• Medicaid work requirements delayed until 2027 following federal action (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
• As Insurers Struggle With GLP-1 Drug Costs, Some Seek To Wean Patients Off (KFF)
• 340B rebate pilot tees up healthcare industry firestorm (Modern Healthcare)
• Consumer groups, debt collectors clash in medical debt hearing (Indiana Capital Chronicle)

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Other healthcare:

• Braun on hospital costs: we can do better (WANE)
• How Indiana is driving down its hospital costs (Governing)
• Indiana’s nonprofit hospitals reported more than $1 billion in profits (Indy Star)
• Where private equity deals stand in 2025 (Modern Healthcare)
• When hospitals buy physician practices, prices go up (Indiana Capital Chronicle)
• Physician pay declines despite rising workloads: report (Modern Healthcare)
• Optum acquires 200-provider medical group (Becker’s)
• Urban hospitals increasingly poaching rural funds (Becker’s)
• Parkview Health to build $150M hospital in Lebanon (IBJ)
• Parkview Health plans $200M hospital, office building in West Lafayette (IBJ)
• UnitedHealth paid AARP $9B to sell Medicare products (AXIOS)
• Trump Demands That Drugmakers Lower Some of Their U.S. Prices by September (New York Times)

Sept 10 All – Stakeholder Member Meeting

This meeting will feature Antonio Ciaccia, President of 3 Axis Advisors and a nationally recognized expert in healthcare drug pricing and policy. Antonio will provide an overview of the current industry players, drug pricing trends, and opportunities to address drug affordability. 

Karen Handorf, J.D., a Full Professor of the Practice at Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) and an ERISA attorney, will provide an update on the latest employer lawsuits and discuss strategies for mitigating risk through fiduciary oversight and contracting.

To round out the meeting, Jessica Brooks-Woods, CEO of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals, will join me on stage to discuss how employers can work with their brokers and consultants to drive drug affordability and accountability.

Please contact Sara Otte, sara@employersforumindiana.org for any meeting questions.

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Get to know the new CEO!

The EFI Team is thrilled to welcome Randa Deaton as our new President and CEO. Take a few moments to get to know her with the below quick Q/A!

What drew you to the Forum and what project or initiative are you most excited to work on? 

I could not be more excited and honored to join EFI; I consider it one of the most influential and impactful state employer coalitions in the country. After working for many years in this space in Kentucky and at a national level, I am most excited to be working and collaborating with employers in my home state of Indiana to drive improved health care affordability and quality on behalf of Hoosier workers and families.

What inspired you to pursue a career in this industry, and how has your journey shaped your perspective on healthcare?

My passion for improving health care comes from both my personal and professional experiences over the last two decades. As part of my role in benefit strategy at Ford Motor Company, I was charged with engaging and collaborating with peer businesses in Greater Louisville to improve healthcare quality and affordability; here I learned the power of collective impact to drive improved transparency, accountability, and health outcomes. I also spent over a decade as a caregiver to a family member with a serious illness, and here I learned what exceptional and accessible care looks and feels like and its extraordinary impact on individuals and families. I believe we should all be working together to ensure access to exceptional care that optimizes outcomes.

What are some of your favorite activities or hobbies outside of work?

My husband and I love to travel, camp, watch sports, and hang out with our adult sons. We spend half the year weekend camping (or glamping) at Indiana State parks with friends and family hiking, biking, and sitting around the fire. The other half of the year is spent at IU football and basketball games cheering on the Hoosiers – a family tradition from both of our families. 

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Texas Employers for Affordable Healthcare / Houston Business Coalition on Health

Texas Employers for Affordable Healthcare / Houston Business Coalition on Health

PODCAST: Listening In (With Permission): LINK

Andréa Caballero (Catalyst for Payment Reform) talks with Chris Skisak, Executive Director of Texas Employers for Affordable Healthcare and the Houston Business Coalition on Health, to explore how Texas employers are fighting back against hospital consolidation, opaque contracts, and rising healthcare costs.

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Hospitals:

• Construction On $4.3B Downtown IU Health Hospital Complex Nears Halfway Mark (IBJ)
• Ascension Enters Agreement To Acquire Amsurg Outpatient Centers (Modern Healthcare)
• IU School of Medicine Opens New $230M Education and Research Building (IBJ)
• 2025 Scorecard on State Health System Performance (Commonwealth Fund)
• Community Health Network President Bryan Mills Announces Retirement After Four Decades of Service (CHN)
• Ascension St. Vincent Celebrates Blessing, Ribbon Cutting of Lucas Family Brain and Spine Hospital (Ascension)

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Policy:

• Scott Signs Bill Capping Drug Prices at Vermont Hospitals (Seven Days)
• Why One State Banned Corporate Ownership Of Doctors’ Offices (Modern Healthcare)
• What Health Care Provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Mean for States (NASHP)
• 2025 State Legislative End-of-Session Recap (CAHPR)
• Reining in Hospital Prices (US of Care)
• HHS Report Marks A Potential A Turning Point In Health Care Competition (Health Affairs)

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Pharmacy:

• Prices For Obesity Drugs Fall, But Affordability Still Out Of Reach For Many (IBJ)

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Public Health / Patients:

• Indiana’s Overall Child Well-Being Improves, With High Rankings In Economic And Education (ICC)
• Indiana Health Department Reports Potential Record-Low Infant Death Rate In 2024 (ICC)
• Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid — Even in GOP States (KFF)
• Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be a Thing of the Past. Surprise — They’re Not. (KFF)

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Insurers:

• Health Insurers Promise To Improve Coverage Reviews That Prompt Delays, Complaints (IBJ)
• Insurers Vow To Make Prior Authorization For Treatment Easier. What That Means. (Washington Post)
• Indiana Chamber Will No Longer Have Anthem As Provider For Small-Business Health Coverage (IBJ)

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Provider / Physician:

• An Attack on the Medical Establishment Buried in an 1,800-Page Regulation (NYT)
• Hospitals Scoop Up Physician Practices, Driving Prices Up (Axios)

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Other:

• Price Changes: January 2000 to December 2024 (LinkedIn)

Employers:

• Podcast: No Extra Care, Just Extra Cost: Facility Fees with Patricia Kelmar (CPR)
• Survey: 36% of Employers Now Cover GLP-1’s for Weight Loss and Diabetes (BenefitsPro)

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Hospitals:

• Podcast: Hospital Consolidation Across Geographic Markets with Katie Gudiksen and Brent Fulton (CPR)
• Making Hospital Tax Breaks Work for Communities (Lown Institute)
• Nonprofit Hospitals Are Quiet Quitting Their Charitable Missions (The Well News)
• 100 Rural Hospitals Have Closed Labor and Delivery In 5 Years: Report (Beckers)
• FTC, Indiana AG Urge Rejection of HCA, Union Health Merger (Beckers)
• Beyond Cost Shifting: Market Power as the Key Driver of Hospital Prices (ERIC)

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Pharmacy:

• Roche Diagnostics Hopes New Self-Collection HPV Test Will Expand Screening for Cervical Cancer Risk (IBJ)
• The 25 Most Expensive Hospital Drugs (Becker’s)

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Public Health / Patients:

• 29 Million Americans Can’t Afford Health Care, Highest Number Since 2021 (Benefits Pro)
• In U.S., Inability to Pay for Care, Medicine Hits New High (Gallup)
• Podcast: Winning a Two-Year Fight Over a Bogus Bill (An Arm and A Leg)
• Preserving Young Patient’s Hair Prompts IU Surgeons’ Invention (IBJ)

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Policy:

• How Much Will That Surgery Cost? Hospital Prices Remain Largely Unhelpful. (KFF)
• Braun’s ‘Make Indiana Healthy Again’ Plan Tightens Food Stamp Requirements, Examines Hoosier Nutrition (IBJ)
• Indiana Lawmakers Send Hospital Pricing Legislation to Braun (IBJ)
• States Take The Reins on Insurance Reform (Politico)

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Other:

• Improving Price Transparency Data: Recommendations From Practice (Health Affairs)