"There is no inherent reason for employers to be involved, in the first place. "
You forgot to mention that this is due to a political solution of wage controls during WWII. Health insurance was a benefit offered to employees to get around the wage controls. Great article as usual.
Insurance is all about risk. Yet neither insurance companies nor their policy-holders can do anything about one of the biggest risks -- namely, interference by politicians, to turn insurance into something other than a device to deal with risk.
By passing laws to force insurance companies to cover things that have nothing to do with risk, politicians force up the cost of insurance.
Annual checkups, for example, are known in advance to take place once a year. Foreseeable events are not a risk. Annual checkups are no cheaper when they are covered by an insurance policy. On...
It was only when providers, employers, insurers, & attorneys began their multiway tug-of-war (with politicians licking their chops at the big insurance funds), & government began rent-seeking from hospitals requiring unpaid services (leading to "cost-shifting") that insurance cos had to get really defensive.
The much-hated HMO's were Ted Kennedy's brainchild, don't forget.