After more than eight years of relative stability, corporate health costs are again shooting up at double-digit rates. Before rounding up the usual suspects—hospitals and doctors (less guilty here than in past run-ups), drug companies (doing what we asked them to do—that is, innovating brilliantly), and your own employees (actually using their benefits)—take a hard look in the mirror. Because this is your fault.
A version of this article appeared in the November 2001 issue of Harvard Business Review.