Two surveys suggest that a good number of the country’s large companies are foreseeing a moderate increase—of about 6%—in employee healthcare costs for 2017.
“These cost increases, while stable, are both unsustainable and unacceptable,” commented Brian Marcotte, CEO of the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), which conducted one of the surveys. The NBGH’s survey gathered its results from 133 companies.
According to NBGH, most large company employees should expect a 5% increase in their premiums next year, with “minimal changes” to plan designs.
Another survey, conducted by Willis Towers Watson, also found similar results among its respondents.
“This is well above the cost-of-living increase,” said Willis Towers Watson health care practice leader Julie Stone. “Our clients are willing to do things that a few years ago employers might have been reluctant to do.”
NBGH’s report noted that 84% of the survey’s respondents confirmed that they will offer high-deductible health plans next year; last year, virtually the same percentage of employers also said that they would offer high-deductible health plans for 2016. Similarly, the percentage of companies offering high-deductible plans as the only choice for workers and their families next year—35%—was relatively unchanged from last year.
Patients with high-deductible coverage have to pay thousands of dollars for their medical costs before their insurance coverage takes effect.
New healthcare-related expenses could be at the root of the increased costs, the studies hinted.
Although hospital use has moderated, employers underscored that expensive specialty drugs such as those used to treat cancer or hepatitis C can easily raise health costs.
NBGH found that nearly 1 in 3 companies said specialty drugs are the major reason for the cost increases. The Willis Towers Watson report revealed that 9 out of 10 employers intend to implement programs to manage specialty drug costs.
Such programs include shifting drug coverage to large pharmacy benefit firms and offering patients drugs at their homes rather than in hospitals, Stone remarked.
On the bright aide, the surveys revealed that employers are more inclined to send their workers to healthcare providers considered “centers of excellence” for quality care and fewer complications. Normally, employers would only recommend “centers of excellence” for organ transplants.
The surveyed employers are also looking into telehealth services for their workers, the NBGH study discovered. Nine out of ten employers will offer nurse coaches for the chronically ill and video conferencing to allow patients to better consult with their primary care clinicians.
Willis Towers Watson’s study posited that by 2018, nearly half of employers would charge an extra $100 or so monthly to allow employees to carry a working spouse on their plans, in addition to their regular premium contributions.
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