2012 Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released its annual Employer Health Benefits survey results, which provide a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continues to document employer's implementation of health reform with question on the percent of firms with grandfathered health plans and enrollment of adult children due to the new health reform law. The 2012 survey included 3,326 randomly selected public and private firms with three or more employees (2,121 of which responded to the full survey and 1,205 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Health Research & Educational Trust designed and analyzed the survey.  

The key finding is that workers covered by an employer plan at private firms contribute 30 percent of the premium for family coverage compared to their counterparts at public or non-profit firms who contribute approximately 23 percent for family coverage. While premiums on average are less expensive at private firms, employers contribute less towards the premium ($10,704 for family coverage) than do public ($12,381) and non-profit ($12,697) employers.  

Based on this information, coalitions may need to think about different strategies for working with their private sector versus public sector employer members.