WASHINGTON–A group representing large companies’ views on health care plans says employee-sponsored packages will likely be more expensive next year.
In a survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health, large U.S. employers are expecting a 5 percent increase next year in health care costs. Companies want to control rising costs by offering their workers cost-sharing provisions and offering more consumer-directed health plans.
“Employees can expect to see a 5 percent increase on their end as well,” said Brian Marcotte, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health. “Though 5 percent doesn’t seem like as big an increase as we’ve experienced from years past, it is still a significant increase and significant impact on the bottom line.”
Findings made public on Wednesday indicated the key reasons for the increase were high-cost claims, specific disease conditions, and specialty pharmacy. Specialty pharmacy only affects two percent of the population, but includes pricey medications that drive up costs.
In June, the forward-looking survey asked 136 large businesses ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 employees – all members of the National Business Group on Health – to report their cost strategies for health care and what they plan to do to control costs in 2015.
Consumer driven health plans were the popular option cited in the survey to rein in costs. Eighty-one percent of those polled had at least one consumer driven plan as an option.
“It is a way to engage employees to be consumers of healthcare,” said Karen Marlo, vice president of the National Business Group on Health.
Consumer driven health plans come in many forms, but allow consumers to set up health saving accounts that are personally controlled, instead of depending on health care benefits.
Another hiccup on the road ahead for large businesses is the looming excise tax, or “Cadillac tax,” coming in 2018 for company-sponsored plans. According to United Healthcare, the levy will amount to a 40 percent tax on the value of health insurance benefits that exceed a certain threshold. For individual coverage the threshold is $10,200 and for a family the threshold is around $27,500. These numbers can be swayed based on the riskiness of a profession or age.
“When the excise tax hits in 2018 it will affect both employers and employees,” Marcotte said. “And to the extent which we can engage and partner with employees and help put them in the driver’s seat to help manage costs with us, then this can help delay or minimize the impact.”
Marlo said other key survey findings relates to coverage of employees’ spouses. The survey reports that 29 percent of large companies are implementing a surcharge for employee’s spouses in 2015.
The National Business Group on Health is a non-profit Washington-based organization dedicated to helping large companies find innovative solutions to health care problems.
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