Employers: Health Plans Will Take Bigger Bite Out Of Next Year’s Paychecks
Expect to pay more for your job-based health care coverage next year, as employers continue a trend of passing along rising costs to workers.
Fifty-three percent of large employers said they would increase the amount workers pay toward their premiums next year, although most said the rise would be less than 10 percent. Thirty-nine percent of the 83 firms surveyed said they would increase deductibles for in-network care.
The firms surveyed, which together employ about 4 million workers, expect health costs to rise 7.4 percent this year, far higher than general inflation. Next year, they’re anticipating a slighlty lower increase.
Almost three-quarters of the firms (73 percent) will offer workers at least one high-deductible plan next year, up from 61 percent this year. Such plans shift more of the cost to workers, but generally have lower premiums.
