Kansas City, Kan. —Providing medical care is growing more expensive each day and as a result, employers across the country are seeking ways to reduce the overall cost of providing healthcare benefits to their employees. The newly released Benefits USA 2010/2011 survey results found the cost of providing healthcare benefits comprises more than 10 percent of companies’ payroll.
To aid in reducing the cost of providing medical insurance, organizations employed various methods. Increasing the employee portion of the premium was used by 58 percent of companies surveyed. Increasing deductible levels and employee co-insurance levels followed at 45.6 and 27.6 percent, respectively. Offering a choice of deductible levels was used at a rate of 22.1 percent compared to switching carriers at 20.1 percent.
Cost containment measures remain a popular option to control healthcare costs as 83.8 percent of organizations use coordination of benefits to bring costs in line. Utilization reviews are used by 59 percent of survey respondents, while disease management is employed at a rate of 58.6 percent. Requiring a second surgical opinion is used the least, 13.1 percent.
“Although employers continue to implement various reduction and containment methods to control costs, they realize improving the employees’ overall health will provide greater benefits for all involved,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. “Not only do healthy employees save costs by requiring less medical care, but some studies have found productivity and work quality improves in conjunction with employees’ health.”
In order to assist employees in improving their health, employers are offering a variety of wellness options. According to the newly released results, 89.9 percent of companies offer flu shots to employees. Health risk assessments are offered at 56 percent of organizations, followed by tobacco cessation, 55.2 percent. Nearly 45 percent of companies provide annual physicals, while 14.1 percent have an onsite health clinic available to employees.
About the Survey
Benefits USA 2010/2011 analyzes national and regional data on benefits eligibility and administration policies with detailed information on benefit plans, premiums and provisions. Information was collected from nearly 4,500 benefit plans covering over 6 million employees across the country.
Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Thousands of U.S. organizations provide data each year ensuring the reliability of our results. Compdata Surveys has been providing comprehensive data at affordable prices to organizations from coast to coast since 1988. For further information about their compensation and benefits surveys, contact Michelle Willis at (800) 300-9570.
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