Survey: Employer-Provided Health Care Getting More Expensive
Survey: Employer-Provided Health Care Getting More Expensive
73 Percent Shifting to High-Deductible Plans
(Washington, D.C.) – A survey of employers who offer health care to their workers finds that moderate increases in premiums are expected next year, with a large majority planning to shift to less expensive plans that offer less coverage in the years ahead. The survey of 1,700 employers was conducted by Mercer, and it indicates that employers expect a 3.9 percent increase in premiums for their workers in 2015. Many say that they will hold premium increases down by managing worker schedules to keep them below 30 hours worked each week. Furthermore, 73 percent say that within 3 years they will offer a "Consumer directed health plan" which features lower premiums for the employee, but also has high deductibles. One-fifth say this will be the only plan they offer. Mercer concludes that "health reform is clearly accelerating" the trend toward these high-deductible plans.
Daniel Garza , Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:
"There have been a lot of promises made by supporters of the new health care law: lower premiums, lower deficits, better choices, and a guarantee that people could keep coverage that they liked. None of this has come to pass and now in 2015, Americans will face a heftier Obamacare penalty if they cannot afford health care.
After the disastrous rollout of the new law, supporters promised to fix it. But a year later, there are no fixes and the problems are growing worse. Now it's becoming clear that more and more workers will be forced out of plans they may like and left with few options. All the while, their out-of-pocket costs continue to rise, either on premiums or deductibles. And all we have are more broken promises from the people entrusted with fixing it."
For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173