Surprise. Surprise. Healthcare costs are going up in 2012, and employers are responding by changing their plans. Here’s a snapshot of what they’re doing.
Employers are deploying a few different strategies:
- 53% plan to increase the percentage that employees contribute to their premiums
- 39% say they’ll increase in-network deductibles
- 23% will increase out-of-network deductibles, and
- 22% will increase out-of-pocket maximums.
That’s according to a recent survey of 83 large employers by the National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of 329, mostly large employers.
Projected increases
Spurring these changes are healthcare cost projections for next year: Employers estimate their costs will increase by an average of 7.2% in 2012, the survey found.
This year, those same employers have seen their costs go up 7.4%.
Making better consumers out of employees
Another plan employers will use to keep costs down: Offer health plans and wellness programs designed to make employees more sensitive to the costs of their medical care.
A rundown:
- 73% say they’ll offer at least one consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) in 2012 (a steep increase from the 61% that offered one this year)
- 17% plan to have or move to a total replacement CDHP
- 57% already provide employees’ spouses and domestic partners access to weight management coaches, and
- 54% provide access to online weight management tools.
