Single and family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in the United States rose an average of 4% this year, continuing a decade-long period of moderate growth, a survey finds.
The Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey finds that since 2005 premiums have grown an average of 5% each year, compared to 11% annually between 1999 and 2005.
The average annual premium for single coverage is US$6,251, of which workers on average pay US$1,071. The average family premium is US$17,545, with workers on average contributing US$4,955.
Read: What stops small businesses from offering benefits?
The survey also finds that 81% of covered workers are in plans with a general annual deductible, which average US$1,318 for single coverage this year.
Covered workers in smaller firms (three to 199 workers) face an average deductible of US$1,836 this year. That’s 66% more than the US$1,105 average deductible facing covered workers at large firms (at least 200 workers).
Since 2010, both the share of workers with deductibles and the size of those deductibles have increased sharply. These two trends together result in a 67% increase in deductibles since 2010, much faster than the rise in single premiums (24%) and about seven times the rise in workers’ wages (10%) and general inflation (9%).
“With deductibles rising so much faster than premiums and wages, it’s no surprise that consumers have not felt the slowdown in health spending,” says Kaiser president and CEO Drew Altman.
Read: How the trend factor affects your benefits costs
Financial incentives for wellness
Many large employers offering health benefits offer health screening programs including health risk assessments (50%), which are questionnaires asking employees about lifestyle, stress or physical health; and biometric screenings (50%), which are in-person health examinations conducted by a medical professional.
The survey finds that 31% of large employers offering health benefits have a financial incentive for employees to complete health-risk assessments, and 28% have an incentive for employees to complete biometric screening.
The majority of large employers continue to offer wellness programs, such as smoking cessation, weight loss or other lifestyle coaching.
Thirty-eight percent of those offering one of these wellness programs provide a financial incentive for employees to participate or complete the program. Among these firms, 15% offer a maximum incentive greater than $1,000 for all of a firm’s health and wellness programs, including any incentives for health screening.
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