National Benchmarking Survey: Health Costs Increase Due to Out-of-Pocket Expenses

 The 2013 UBA Health Plan Survey has found that in 2013 employers paid more for individual premiums but required employees to pay 3 percent more for family coverage, while decreasing in-network coverage for both groups. The average family premium was $492 per month as the average worker saw increases in out-of-pocket costs, including higher in-network deductibles, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket maximums. The portion the average employee paid for employer-sponsored health plans decreased by 15.7 percent this year, $592 for a single employee.

During the same period, in-network deductibles rose by $91 to $1,852 for single employees and by $216 to $4,225 for family coverage. Out-of-pocket maximums rose by $152 to $3,641 for individual plans and $433 to $8,043 for family plans; an increase of 17 times from 2008. At the same time, in-network co-insurance declined from 90 percent to 80 percent this year.

“This is the first year, in my 22 year career in the industry, that employers took back some of the premiums they were asking employees to pay, a good indication they are looking to attract and retain top talent as the economy picks up,” says Thom Mangan, CEO of UBA. “Unfortunately, dependents are being asked to pick up more of the tab, which could signal an increasing anti-family trend.”

Other trends uncovered in the survey include:

• PPOs are the most popular plan type offered, accounting for 47.2 percent of all plans in 2013. HMOs decreased to 18.4 percent while CDHP plans grew to 24.1 percent.

• Self-insurance has increased by 10 percent this year.

• The average PCP copay increased from $25 to $26 while specialist copay rose from $36 to $37.

• Less than half of health plans offer dependent coverage, a miniscule 0.4 percent increase from 2012.