Schmoozing with the enemy: conversations with employee benefits managers.

During the past decade, the role of private employers in the purchase of health benefits has assumed critical importance. Purchaser-provider relationships are almost certain to grow more contentious in the current climate of escalating costs and recrimination about the sources of this escalation. This study reports the findings of structured, in-depth interviews with a sample of employee benefits managers from medium- to large-sized firms. The study focused on how these managers approach the health benefits buying process. A key finding is the wide variation observed in the buying process among a relatively homogeneous group of employers. Several prescriptive implications for health services managers are derived from the interviews, including the critical need to promote expanded and improved provider-employer communication.