Health plan costs rise 3.3% in 2013, but larger hikes coming: Aon Hewitt
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Group health care plan costs increased on average by a modest 3.3% in 2013, but bigger increases may be on the horizon, according to new research released by Aon Hewitt.
Group health care plan costs rose to an average of $10,471 per employee in 2013, according to an analysis released Thursday by Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Aon Hewitt. Costs include employer and employee premium contributions, but not employee out-of-pocket costs, such as copayments and coinsurance.
Aon Hewitt's findings, which are based on health care plans offered by 516 employers, are consistent with other research. For example, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported in August that premiums for family health insurance coverage rose just 3.8% on average in 2013.
• The average employee premium contribution for coverage in 2013 was $2,303, up 4.7% from 2012.
• Employees' out-of-pocket costs averaged $2,239 in 2013, up 12.9% from the prior year.
• By plan design, premium costs rose the most for health maintenance organizations, where costs in 2013 increased by an average of 4.9% to $10,880 per employee.
Aon Hewitt consultants doubt, however, that this year's average cost increase of 3.3% — the smallest in more than a decade — will continue in 2014, when, among other things, both insurers and self-funded employers will face new fees mandated by the health care reform law.
“We expect to see 2014 premium increases shift back toward the 6% to 7% range overall,” Tim Nimmer, Aon Hewitt's chief health care actuary in Denver, said in a statement.
