According to the latest Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans and based on responses from 1,511 US employers, Health Benefit costs will grow by 3.9 per cent in 2020.
Just 43 per cent of responding employers indicated that raising deductibles or otherwise cutting benefits to hold down cost in 2020, i.e. cost -shifting to employees, will be less of a factor than in recent years.
Since 2014, the amount costs would rise if employers renewed plans - without making changes - has gone down from 8 per cent to 5 per cent, taking off some of the pressure to make short-term cost cuts. Employers have been seeking to reduce costs by using improved health outcomes - such as targeted support for specific health conditions - and steering plan members to higher-quality providers.
Tracy Watts - Mercer’s National Leader for US Health Policy - stated:
“While the trend of low single-digit increases that began in 2012 continues, health benefit costs are still rising faster than overall inflation. And with the economy slowing, employers know they can’t afford to be complacent.”
She added:
“Rather than shift cost to employees, these approaches typically enhance the health care experience”.
To assist with higher quality health care, employers are carrying on adding to tech-enabled programs especially designed to help members with specific health issues - such as diabetes, insomnia and infertility. For instance, a program for diabetes can significantly improve quality of life whilst reducing trips to the emergency room - which are very costly.
In addition, 39 per cent of employers with 500 or more employees are also helping to ensure plan members receive high-quality care by providing access to a Center of Excellence for cardiology, bariatric surgery, cancer and other complex treatments - and 16 per cent say they guide employees to the Center with lower cost-sharing or even by requiring its use.
In 2019, 62 per cent of the respondents with 500 or more employees were found to be offering one or more of such targeted solutions - compared to 55 per cent in 2018 (40 per cent of these respondents say that all or most of their benefit offerings are accessible to employees on a single, fully integrated digital platform - most often through a smartphone app). This is compared to 34 per cent in Mercer’s 2018 survey.
Tracy Watts says:
“Employers have been experimenting with new approaches to tackle high costs, inconsistent quality, and low patient satisfaction. While there’s still so much more to do, it’s encouraging to see signs that health innovation may be starting to slow health cost growth – without shifting cost back to employees.”
