Employer Healthcare Coverage and Healthcare Costs

Based on early responses from a survey conducted annually by Mercer, employers expect health benefit cost per employee will rise by 4.8% on average in 2014. Cost growth slowed to 4.1% in 2012, a 15-year low. The projected increase for 2014, while still relatively low, represents a slight uptick in the rate of growth. Some employers will minimize the number of newly eligible employees by cutting back on hours for at least a portion of their workforce - 11% of all large employers say they will do so. Few large employers - just 5% - say it's likely they will terminate their health plans within the next five years, even though public insurance exchanges will provide another source of health coverage. About a fifth of employers with fewer than 200 employees say it's likely they will terminate their plans; employers of this size are much less likely to offer coverage to begin with. Source: Mercer