Business

Employers shifting more health costs to workers

Businesses remain committed to wellness programs and disease management, a consulting firm survey found.

By Emily Berry — Posted Oct. 8, 2009

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

Employers still offering health insurance to workers are, in many cases, planning to raise out-of-pocket costs for their employees in 2010. However, those same employers are holding on to programs meant to keep workers healthy.

In its annual survey of employers gearing up for benefits open enrollment, consulting firm Watson Wyatt found about four in 10 companies planned to raise co-pays, coinsurance or deductible for workers, passing on more of the cost of benefits to them.

That's a continuation of a long-running trend, said Tom Billet, senior consultant with Watson Wyatt.

It's unclear whether there's a limit to how high cost-sharing can go, and what that would mean for patients and physicians.

"Higher cost-sharing means less insurance, so if you want to have meaningful insurance, there's a limit to the amount of cost-sharing," said Dahlia Remler, PhD, associate professor at the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, part of the City University of New York. She co-authored a review of available literature about cost-sharing published earlier this year in the Annual Review of Public Health (link).

Remler said one limitation of the current research is that most of it looks at low levels of cost-sharing, not high-deductible plans that substantially raise the out-of-pocket cost of care.

Watson Wyatt's study also found more companies were planning to offer high-deductible, consumer-directed health plans paired with health savings accounts, although in most cases, those plans would be an option, not a replacement for comprehensive coverage, Billet said.

Employers are also trying to keep workers from getting sick and facing a huge out-of-pocket bill by continuing to offer wellness programs and benefit designs that cover preventive care.

"Most companies that have those programs see them as an integral part of the long-term solution to addressing health care issues," he said.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn