Kaiser Family Foundation Survey: Health Insurance Deductibles Outpacing Salaries

This week the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) released its 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey, an annual survey of employers that provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and employer opinions.

The research found that single and family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 4 percent this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth. Since 2005, premiums have grown an average of 5 percent each year, compared to 11 percent annually between 1999 and 2005.

The study also found that the average annual premium for single coverage is $6,251, of which workers on average pay $1,071, and the average family premium is $17,545, with workers on average contributing $4,955.

Laurel Pickering, chief executive, Northeast Business Group on Health, and David Lansky, chief executive, Pacific Business Group on Health, weighed in on the research for an article written by Reed Abelson, a reporter for The New York Times.

CDHPs Grow in Popularity as New Healthcare Law Implemented

After remaining largely stagnant in previous years, the percentage of jumbo employers (>5,000 employees) offering consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) jumped in 2013. Benfield Research 2013 reporting finds that about two-thirds of employers currently offer CDHPs. That percentage is expected to grow even more over the next two years. About three-fourths of jumbo employers plan to offer CDHPs in 2015. One explanation for the growing popularity of these plans is that employers see CDHPs as a cost containment tactic under healthcare reform regulations.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Make up only 2.2% of Employer Health Spending

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) is unlikely to have a large effect on the growth rate of employer health care expenditures, according to two new studies conducted by researchers from the health care business of Thomson Reuters working in conjunction with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The first study, "Spending Trends on Substance Abuse Treatment Under Private Employer-Sponsored Insurance 2001–2009," was published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. It examines patterns in substance abuse treatment spending and utilization between 2001 and 2009 to provide a baseline for assessing the effects of recent health policy changes. The second study, "Mental Health Spending by Private Insurance: Implications for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act," was published in the April 2012 issue of Psychiatric Services. It estimates the potential cost implications for employers under the MHPAEA, which mandates that group health plans that include both general and mental health/substance abuse benefits must cover the same level of benefits for both.

Together, the studies cite a small amount of total spending and low intensity of utilization of inpatient and outpatient services as primary reasons why the new law will not have a substantial cost impact on employers. The research shows that substance abuse spending has held steady as a low portion of all costs, comprising just 0.4% of all health spending in 2009.

"Employers need not be alarmed by the new coverage mandates of the MHPAEA," said Tami L. Mark, Ph.D., the paper's lead author and Senior Director, Thomson Reuters. "It seems clear, given the relatively low spending on, and low intensity of use of, mental health and substance abuse services, that the additional cost incurred by employers because of the mandate is likely to be negligible."

Together, the studies cite a small amount of total spending and low intensity of utilization of inpatient and outpatient services as primary reasons why the new law will not have a substantial cost impact on employers. The research shows that substance abuse spending has held steady as a low portion of all costs, comprising just 0.4% of all health spending in 2009.

"Employers need not be alarmed by the new coverage mandates of the MHPAEA," said Tami L. Mark, Ph.D., the paper's lead author and Senior Director, Thomson Reuters. "It seems clear, given the relatively low spending on, and low intensity of use of, mental health and substance abuse services, that the additional cost incurred by employers because of the mandate is likely to be negligible."

ADP survey: 40% of employees don't understand their benefit options

According to a recent article by Lisa Gillespie in Employee Benefit News...

A new ADP survey shows a wide gap between the goals and reality of how employees understand their benefit plans. Eighty percent of human resources decision-makers believe it's important for employees to fully understand their benefit options, yet they estimate only about 60% of their own employees do – a finding with serious implications for how companies communicate one of the most important parts of their employees' total compensation.

Keep reading...

V-BID Registry Launched

The University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) is proudly launching the V-BID Registry at www.vbidregistry.org.

The registry is a free resource designed to gather and share examples of value-based insurance design from across the US and abroad. Submitted examples are reviewed by the V-BID Center and posted to the registry site, where anyone -- employers, plan designers, policy makers, researchers -- can sort by location, targeted disease state or keyword to find the most relevant V-BID programs.

Employers can help employees be more responsible for their health: Analysis

The Midwest Business Group on Health has released a series of recommendations to better structure the design, communication and delivery of benefits, wellness incentives and health management activities.

The recommendations are included in a white paper based on the findings of a five-year research project focused on understanding employer and employee perspectives on health care and health benefits. Read the full article...

Value-Based Benefit Designs Improve Community Health Value in Colorado Springs

Center for Health Value Innovation calls attention to success of multi-stakeholder engagement efforts to lower health care costs and improve sustainability

To reinforce the importance of engaging a community to lower health care costs and improve health and economic sustainability, the Center for Health Value Innovation (CHVI) has chronicled the efforts of three Colorado Springs employers that worked together to change how they were contracting for health. Read the full release...