Employers and Employees Share Rising Costs of Health Insurance

Both organizations and employees are facing high costs for health insurance. According to the preliminary results from the Compensation Data 2007 survey, 67.6 percent of companies pay $150 to 349 monthly for each individual on an employee only plan. In comparison, 78 percent of employers pay more than $450 on family plans. For these employers, the cost to cover a family for an entire year is over $5,400.

When examining costs on percentage plans, 56.8 percent of employers pay 70 to 89 percent of the premium on employee only plans, and 56 percent pay the same percentage of the premium per family. In addition, 38.9 percent of employers reported their annual deductibles were between $250 and 499 for individuals, while 53.5 percent said annual deductibles for families were more than $900.

Employee costs can also add up quickly for individuals and families. The Compensation Data 2007 results show a great number of employees, 48.7 percent, pay $25 to 74 of their monthly premium. This translates to as much as $888 annually. A large number of families, 42.7 percent, pay more than $250 of their monthly premium or over $3000 per year. In the majority of plans, deductibles and/or co-insurance add to out-of-pocket costs for employees, as 77.4 percent of all plan types include them.

Individuals often believe they are carrying the majority of health care cost increases on their own, said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys, the nationís leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. However, in actuality, both parties are sharing the burden of increasing costs at various degrees.

The Compensation Data 2007 results reported 22 percent of organizations have no waiting period for health insurance coverage, while the majority, 40.6 require one to 31 days of service. PPO plans are the most offered type of health insurance at 81.7 percent. They are followed by HMO plans at 29.5 percent and Indemnity at 19.7.