According to a survey recently released by Towers Watson and National Business Group, health care costs are projected to increase by 7 percent in 2011. Annual costs per employee are expected to reach $11,176 (up 7.6 percent from 2010). Employers are concerned not only with these expected rising costs, but also with the effects health care reform will have on their health plans over the next several years. Many companies are implementing more comprehensive plan design changes to address these concerns, such as:
- Increasing contributions for dependents, either through per-dependent contributions or spousal waivers or surcharges
- Discontinuing employer-sponsored retiree medical coverage or restructuring retiree programs
- Offering incentives or penalties to providers based on performance
- Focusing on wellness and rewarding or penalizing employees based on biometrics like weight and cholesterol In addition, adoption of consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) with an HSA or HRA is rapidly growing.
Many employers are promoting these plans by offering employees significant premium reductions. Companies with high CDHP enrollment have been able to keep costs flat and even reduce per-employee health care costs.
Source: The Ward Agency
