Costs for employer-provided health plans are expected to rise more than 10 percent within the next 12 months, a jump workers may feel in their paychecks or through changes to their insurance coverage.
An aging population, rising costs and growing patient demand for services are among the reasons for the higher costs cited in an Aon Consulting report released Tuesday.
A Chicago-based company surveyed about 60 health insurers around the country earlier this year. The study found that, on average, insurers expect to pay out 10.5 percent more in claims costs in the next year — slightly less than the 10.6 percent increase forecast last year.The expected increase doesn't necessarily mean the premiums employees pay will grow at the same clip. Actual increases for each insurer or plan can vary by such factors as plan design, geography or the general health of the people covered.
Some employers also might swallow the higher costs because workers this year already have had to contend with salary freezes, reductions and layoffs.
However, others may ask workers to pay more through increased deductibles or copayments. They could make changes to the plans they offer, such as eliminating a traditional plan and offering a consumer-directed, high-deductible plan instead.
Most employers will consider it "an absolute business imperative" to lower any cost increases to mid- to low-single digit percentages.
Employer contributions are not gifts, they're part of total compensation. And if you end up having a more expensive health benefit that your employer pays most of, that means that your wages aren't going to up as fast as they would have.
The survey also found that prescription drug costs are expected to rise 9.3 percent, a slight dip from the 9.4 percent trend forecast a year ago.
A number of brand-name drugs have lost patent protection, which allows patients to buy less-expensive generics. Employers also have encouraged their workers to use generic drugs and cost-management programs.
The health care overhaul debate currently taking place in Washington, D.C., won't control this growth. The debate's outcome and the potential savings achieved through any overhaul are both big unknowns.
With employer-provided health plans expected to rise, providers are starting to offer American's the option to enroll in individual health plans and individual health insurance plans. These health insurance plans consistently beat the national average in managing health care costs.
