Group health care plan costs rose 6% this year, the same rate as last year, according to an analysis released Tuesday.

Group health care costs increased an average of 6% to $8,607 per employee in 2009 and are projected to rise 6% again in 2010, said Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Hewitt Associates Inc., based on information from more than 325 large employers.

Group health care plan costs rose 6% in 2008 and 5.3% in 2007, Hewitt said.

By plan type, health maintenance organizations had the highest increase this year, up 7.4% to an average of $8,869 per employee; point-of-service plan costs climbed 5.4% to an average of $9,320 per employee; and preferred provider organization plan costs rose 5.2% to an average of $8,264.

As health care plan costs have climbed, cost-shifting to employees also has increased. For example, employees’ total health plan costs averaged $3,656 per employee in 2009, up 6.5% from 2008. Employees’ costs include out-of-pocket expenses, such as deductibles, copayments and premium contributions.

Copies of Hewitt’s health care cost analysis are available at www.hewitt.com.