Employees to Pay Increased Health Insurance Premiums, Deductibles in 2009

An increased number of employees in 2009 will pay more for health insurance — and receive less coverage in some cases — as employers ‘grapple with the financial fallout of rising medical expenses and diminished revenue and profits’ during the current economic recession, the Washington Post reports. The recession ‘is making it more difficult for many employers to subsidize health care costs at previous levels,’ and in 2009 ‘benefit packages contain the biggest increases for workers since the recession of 2001,’ according to the Post.
In 1999, employers covered about 90% of the cost of health insurance for employees, compared with 73% today, and the percentage likely will decrease to 70% over the next few years, according to Shub Debgupta, senior director of the Benefits Roundtable at the . A recent Mercer survey found that 44% of almost 2,000 large employers plan to increase the share of health insurance premiums paid by employees in 2009, compared with 40% in 2008. In addition, according to a recent survey, one-fourth of 350 large employers increased health insurance deductibles by an average of 9% in 2008, and 30% plan to increase deductibles by an average of 14% in 2009.
In an effort to reduce costs, an increased number of employers have begun to offer high-deductible health plans linked with health savings accounts and focus on wellness programs ‘aimed at keeping workers healthy through diet and exercise,’ the Post reports. Sharon Bohlman, president of , said, ‘The goal of a high-deductible health plan is for everyone to treat medical care like they buy a car … and do comparative shopping’ (Dion Haynes, Washington Post, 1/25).
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