Provisions outlined in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act could reduce employer-sponsored premiums by 1.1 percent on average annually, totaling $111 billion in savings over the next 10 years, according to a Dec. 9 Urban Institute analysis.
The report, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, attributes the savings primarily to the act's drug inflation rebate provision, which aims to reduce federal and private drug spending.
The Urban Institute anticipates that if implemented, the act would reduce the premiums by $3 billion by 2023 and $21 billion by 2031, according to the report.
"Approximately half of the people in America are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance," said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Lowering the cost of prescription drugs lowers the cost of insurance premiums. That puts more money in the pockets of working families."