Healthcare costs keep climbing, with the overall medical trend projected to rise 9% in 2026, following years of similar increases. As employers seek every advantage in cutting costs, it’s unlikely that they’re using information that can deliver almost immediate savings: machine-readable files (MRFs).

MRFs are computer files that list provider charges and insurance payments in detail, giving employers a potential window into exactly what they’re paying for, and where they’re overpaying.

There’s just one problem: MRFs are far too large and complex for most employers to interpret on their own. The good news? The right partner can decode them — and turn raw data into a competitive advantage in cost management.

What are machine-readable files in healthcare?

Under the Transparency in Coverage Rule of the Affordable Care Act, providers and payors have been required to publish in-network and out-of-network rates since July 2022.1 The files must be published in a “machine-readable format,” meaning they can be downloaded and viewed on a computer.

But compliance hasn’t necessarily meant accessibility. The required data arrives in the form of enormous, technically complex files in formats such as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) — amounting to terabytes of information that are impenetrable to the average employer.

For all but the largest employers, most organizations simply don’t have the time, technology or expertise to make sense of MRFs. But the data is there — and it’s waiting to be used.

What MRFs can deliver

The most important factor in leveraging MRFs is finding a partner with the technology to analyze, decode and translate these massive databases into insights.

With the help of outside partners, HUB can clean and interpret MRF data to deliver results such as:

  • Finding hidden cost-saving opportunities. MRFs put a spotlight on the specific cost drivers buried in health plans, often in places where employers would never think to look. MRF analysis can flag high-cost categories like musculoskeletal care, oncology, radiology and cardiovascular, identify targeted solutions and surface optimal site-of-care options that would otherwise go unnoticed.

  • Highlighting that not all insurer discounts are the same. Insurers frequently tout their negotiated discounts, but MRF analysis can reveal when a 30% discount is actually less effective than a 25% one. A bigger number doesn’t always mean a better deal, especially when it’s applied to a higher baseline charge or to specialties that employees rarely use.

  • Benchmarking networks against one another with real numbers. MRFs allow claims data to be repriced across different carrier networks, showing what actual in-network spending would have looked like under a competing plan. For employers heading into carrier negotiations, this intelligence can be a game-changer.


Contact HUB International’s experts to learn how MRF analysis can help your organization make smarter, data-driven healthcare decisions.

1 Merative, “Healthcare price transparency: Insights on machine-readable files and shopping tools,” July 25, 2025.