New Jersey Health Care Costs Increase in 2007

Seventy-seven percent of companies had a health insurance premium increase, according to the Compensation Data 2007 ñ New Jersey annual survey of 141 employers. When compared to 2006, this number has increased from 72.3 percent. The newly released results reported the average premium increase was 12.3 percent for all plan types.

Health insurance premiums have continued to increase over the last three years. In 2006, the average premium increase was 12 percent and then, 13.3 percent the previous year in New Jersey. When comparing plans in 2007, 72.2 percent of organizations offering PPO plans saw an average increase of 12.8 percent, while HMO and POS plans had average premium increases of 13.7 and 8.8 percent respectively.

To contain rising costs, New Jersey organizations utilized a variety of methods. The most highly used was coordination of benefits at 62.1 percent in 2007, while wellness programs were employed by 60.6 percent. A network of healthcare professionals was prevalent, as 50.8 percent of organizations used it to contain costs.

The results showed 40.2 percent of New Jersey companies increased the employee portion of the premium in their efforts to reduce costs. This is 12.1 percent lower than it was in 2006. Currently, 28 and 17.4 percent of organizations increased deductible levels and employee co-insurance levels respectively. On average, employers contribute 11.4 percent of payroll toward the cost of health benefits, which is more than the cost to provide all of the following benefits: dental, pension, life, disability and other non-mandated benefits.

Health insurance continues to be a concern for both employers and employees across the United States, said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys. And as the presidential election approaches, candidatesí health care plans will remain a primary focus of debate. However, most companies are concerned with how to contain costs now, and in response, some states are exploring legislative measures.