It started with one call. Then others came in from health plan executives who have been approached by providers in their networks seeking payment increases — in some cases, double digit increases. The executives wanted to know if this was an anomaly in their markets or part of a bigger national trend.

While there’s no comprehensive database tracking these asks, we have enough anecdotal evidence from clients — combined with data points on growing provider costs — to suggest that this trend is going to intensify over the coming months. In fact, it is very likely to extend into 2023 contract negotiations, which will have an impact on health plans submitting their own rate filings to regulators, as well as consumers and employers as they consider coverage options and benefit designs for the coming year.

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