A majority of large U.S. employers are moving forward with plans to make changes to their 2011 healthcare benefit programs in the wake of both health reform and expected large health benefit cost increases next year, according to a new survey by the National Business Group on Health. The survey was based on responses from 72 of the nation’s largest corporations representing more than 3.7 million employees.
The survey found that more than half (53 percent) of respondents are still planning to make changes to their benefit plans despite the uncertainty that exists around complying with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Another two of 10 employers (19 percent) are scaling back changes they planned to make while an equal number are making no changes. The remaining respondents were still undecided pending further review of the final regulations. Though, among the employers who will be making specific changes to their health benefit plans to comply with the new law, 70 percent said they will remove lifetime dollar limits on overall benefits while 37 percent reported they will make changes to annual or lifetime limits on specific benefits. About one in four (26 percent) will remove annual dollar limits on overall benefits while 13 percent will remove pre-existing condition exclusions for children.
According to the survey, employers estimate their healthcare benefit costs will increase an average of 8.9 percent next year, compared with an average increase of 7 percent this year. To help control those increases, employers are planning to use a wider variety of cost-sharing strategies. The survey found 63 percent of employers plan to increase the percentage employees contribute to the premium, up from 57 percent who did so this year, while 46 percent plan to raise out-of-pocket maximums next year compared with 36 percent this year.
More than six in 10 (61 percent) employers will offer a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) in 2011. While the most common type of plan employers will offer is a high-deductible plan combined with a health savings account (64 percent), the survey found a big spike in employers moving to a full replacement plan. Among employers offering a CDHP, the number moving to a full replacement plan doubled from 10 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.
Other findings from the survey include:
- With the health reform law making Medicare Part D benefits richer as the “doughnut hole” closes between now and 2020, 5 percent of employers plan to drop retiree health coverage in 2011 while 60 percent are considering doing so in the future.
- Four in 10 (41 percent) of employers offered premium discounts for completing health assessments while 22 percent offered premium discounts for participating in tobacco cessation programs.
- One in four (25 percent) of employers plan to raise the co-pay or co-insurance for retail pharmacy prescription drug benefits while 21 percent plan to do the same for mail-order pharmacy benefits.
Source: National Business Group on Health, August 18, 2010
Real ROI from Health Management: Cost Savings through Coaching and Disease Management
In this resource, industry experts detail the measures to look at when evaluating health coaching and population health programs and provide case studies of how they are using these measures to demonstrate a health management ROI.
Real ROI from Health Management: Cost Savings through Coaching and Disease Management is available from the Healthcare Intelligence Network for $139 by visiting our
Online Bookstore or by calling toll-free (888) 446-3530.
