More companies are adding deductibles to the insurance plans they offer their employees.
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As head of human resources for a Minnesota company with 1,600 employees that manufactures equipment for the mining industry, Scott Arndt saw the writing on the wall five years ago: health insurance premiums were going to keep increasing by leaps and bounds unless his company, Superior Industries global Inc., did something.
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. But companies still will be intent on controlling costs to prepare for an overhaul-imposed tax on expensive benefit plans that starts in 2018. Since 2010, deductibles are up 67 percent, while insurance premiums are up 24 percent. Deductibles averaged $1,836 for employers with three to 199 workers and $1,105 for employers with 200 or more workers. The proportion of health plans with a deductible rose to 81 percent previous year from 70 percent in 2010. 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. On average, employers pay 82% of the premium costs for single coverage, but only 71% of the premium costs for family coverage. “Also noteworthy is that many employers are tying financial incentives to employee participation in health and wellness programs”. Over the last year, the company has been able to hold down premium increases – last year there was a zero percent bump, and for the coming calendar year, it expects expect a modest 4 percent increase.
The average family plan cost workers $4,955, up 3 percent from past year . Among those surveyed, 1,997 responded to the full survey and 1,194 responded to a single question about offering coverage.
This year is the first that employers with at least 100 fulltime equivalent workers must offer health insurance or face a financial penalty under the federal health law. 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. That was up 8 percent from 2014 and 34 percent from 2010, according to the researchers. In a given firm, the majority of employees who are in relatively good health may end up saving money as premiums rise more slowly.
A controversial provision of the federal health law known as the Cadillac tax is poised to require some employers to pay hefty taxes on their benefits.
The rise in health care costs is hitting workers particularly hard because it’s growing much faster than wages. That lets employees pick plans with lower premiums, and use innovative feature like seeing a doctor via video chat to help contain spending, according to Beth Umland, director of research for health and benefits at the consulting firm Mercer.
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This one workplace mirrors a national trend in which workers are finding themselves responsible to a greater portion of their health insurance costs.
