Smart Benefits: Are Double-Digit Premium Increases a Thing of the Past?
Monday, September 15, 2014
The annual survey is designed to evaluate trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, and cost-sharing provisions. The results, which included input from almost three thousand interviews with non-federal public and private firms, revealed:
-Premiums Flat: the average premium in a group plan was $16,834 for family coverage and $6,025 for single coverage this year, up slightly from $16,351 and $5,884, respectively, last year.
-Employers Contributions Stable: On average, covered workers contributed an average 18% of the premium for single coverage and 29% of the premium for family coverage, the same percentages as 2013.
-Deductibles Higher: Twenty-seven percent of employers offered a HDHP with an HRA or HSA this year, and 20 percent of covered workers are enrolled in these plans. The percentage of enrollees in a plan with a deductible of $2,000 or more increased from 15% last year to 18% this year.
Note that this survey considers small businesses to be those with 3-199 employees and large businesses those with over 200. That means smaller employers with less than 50 employees are in the same category as larger employers with more than 50 employees, which can skew the results since the Affordable Care Act draws the statutory line at – and is focused on – businesses with more than 50 employees.
The 2014 survey highlights stability among employer-sponsored plans last year. But does this quiet year mean big changes are in store for 2015 when the employer shared-responsibility provision in the ACA takes effect for large employers? We’ll see when Kaiser’s annual results come out next year.
Related Slideshow: New England’s Healthiest States
The United Health Foundation recently released its 2013 annual reoprt: America's Health Rankings, which provides a comparative state by state analysis of several health measures to provide a comprehensive perspective of our nation's health issues. See how the New England states rank in the slides below.
Definitions
All Outcomes Rank: Outcomes represent what has already occurred, either through death, disease or missed days due to illness. In America's Health Rankings, outcomes include prevalence of diabetes, number of poor mental or physical health days in last 30 days, health disparity, infant mortality rate, cardiovascular death rate, cancer death rate and premature death. Outcomes account for 25% of the final ranking.
Determinants Rank: Determinants represent those actions that can affect the future health of the population. For clarity, determinants are divided into four groups: Behaviors, Community and Environment, Public and Health Policies, and Clinical Care. These four groups of measures influence the health outcomes of the population in a state, and improving these inputs will improve outcomes over time. Most measures are actually a combination of activities in all four groups.
Diabetes Rank: Based on percent of adults who responded yes to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" Does not include pre-diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy.
Smoking Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are current smokers (self-report smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke).
Obesity Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher.
Source: http://www.americashealthrankings.org/
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