HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
Ellen Tucker, Consultant
Hill, Chesson & Woody

The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust have just released the results of their 2010 health benefits survey – and cost shifting appears to be the hottest trend. (Press release for the Employer Health Benefits 2010 Annual Survey.) According to the survey, employees’ share of health plan costs jumped over 14 percent from the previous year. Workers on average are paying nearly $4,000 this year toward the cost of family health coverage.  That’s $482 above what they paid previously. This data points to an underlying trend of employers making changes to their plan designs and contribution strategies to compensate for expected cost increases. It could be a sign of things to come in the healthcare reform era.

Why This is Important for Employers
The Kaiser 2010 survey reveals that employers do not feel confident healthcare reform will do anything to affect their costs in the near term. As such, they are bracing for higher costs by altering their plan designs and shifting more premium costs to employees. To keep pace with others in their respective industries, employers may pay closer attention to recent benchmarking data to see where they need to make their adjustments.

HCW Viewpoint
As medical trends continue at this high rate, more employers will look to shift their benefits and contribution strategies. Some may offer consumer-driven high deductible plans with health savings accounts, hoping that employees will take personal responsibility for their health and healthcare cost. While these plans have lower premiums due to higher deductibles, the trend for these plans is now slightly higher than the trend for traditional plans. Other employers may implement robust wellness plans with incentives, to attempt to improve the health of their employees. The strategic possibilities are numerous.

If employers are willing to gain a better grasp on their benefit and contribution strategies, they may need to focus on the most recent benchmarking data available. Participation in the CAI/HCW 2010 NC Healthcare Benefits and Cost Survey can provide access to data from employment sectors all over the state. This survey, which launches in November, captures local data on premiums, contribution amounts and plan design features including office visit co-pays, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and pharmacy benefits. If you are interested in participating, please contact HCW via email.

For more information on the Kaiser survey, please visit the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust Data Presentation.