Daily Document Update: HR Compliance Library, ¶46,373, Employers expect health benefit costs to rise 3.9 percent in 2020: Mercer

摘要

Total health benefits cost per employee is projected to rise 3.9 percent in 2020, according to preliminary results from Mercer’s National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. Based on responses from 1,511 U.S. employers, Mercer found that cost-shifting to employees will be less of a factor than in recent years, with just 43 percent of responding employers raising deductibles or otherwise cutting benefits to hold down cost in 2020. Since 2014, the underlying medical trend, the amount costs would rise if employers renewed plans without making changes, has decreased from 8 percent to 5 percent, easing some of the pressure on employers to make short-term cost cuts. During this time, employers have been adopting tactics that seek to reduce cost via improved health outcomes, such as targeted support for specific health conditions and steering plan members to higher-quality providers.