Fed up with rising costs, big US firms dig into healthcare

Dr. Larry Kwan speaks with an employee during a doctor's visit at a Cisco health clinic at Cisco Systems in San Jose, California, U.S., March 22, 2018. Picture taken March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

SAN JOSE, California: At its Silicon Valley headquarters, network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc is going to unusual lengths to take control of the relentless increase in its US healthcare costs. 

The company is among a handful of large American employers who are getting more deeply involved in managing their workers' health instead of looking to insurers to do it. Cisco last year began offering its employees a plan it negotiated directly with nearby Stanford Health medical system.