American workers saw their out-of-pocket medical costs jump again this year, as the average deductible for an employer-provided health plan surged almost 9 percent in 2015 to more than $1,000, a major new survey of employers shows.
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Workers in the United States are increasingly putting more of their income towards the cost of their health insurance. This year, health insurance premiums experienced on average a four percent increase, lower than annual increases ten years ago, although they have risen about 24 percent in the past five years.
It’s the key reason why many Americans haven’t felt much benefit in recent years as growth in health care spending has slowed, according to survey results and a report being released Tuesday by the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation. The law imposes a so- called Cadillac Tax on high-cost insurance plans, starting in 2018. Since 2010, according to the Kaiser/HRET study, the cumulative increase in deductibles has been more than twice the cumulative increase in premiums. Some employers offer tools for employees to see the actual costs of their health care and hotlines to connect them to nurses for health advice, possibly avoiding an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.
Raising deductibles and co-pays has traditionally been a way for employers to keep premiums in check. The survey shows that 2015 premiums for family coverage were 4.2 percent percent higher than in 2014, a rise slightly greater than those of the past few years.
Of companies surveyed, the average annual 2015 premium for individuals was $6,521, while family coverage cost, on average, $17,545. Those include emphasizing wellness programs, assessing employees’ health risks – in some cases using biometric screenings that measure blood pressure, weight and other factors – and considering using private exchanges that allow employees to pick their own plans with a certain amount of money provided by the company. On average, employers pay 82% of the premium costs for single coverage, but only 71% of the premium costs for family coverage.
Beginning this year, employers with the equivalent of at least 100 full-time workers must offer health benefits to full-timers that meet standards for value and affordability.
Among those with deductibles, the average for individual coverage is $1,318, up from $917 in 2010. The requirement will apply to employers with at least 50 full-time employees in 2016, though Republicans and Democrats are working on legislation that could alter this employer mandate. Worker earnings, by contrast, rose just 10 percent over that period, according to Kaiser’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Workers at large firms in general are faced with different experiences for employer-sponsored health.
Health insurance costs have been rising at historically low rates over the last several years.
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The survey found that 5% of employers offered more comprehensive benefits this year to some workers and that 21% extended coverage to groups of workers previously not eligible for health benefits. “They may not get the health care they need if they have a very big deductible”, he said. While the law is meant to benefit workers, many find they are now taking on more of the cost of their health insurance than in the past.
