Employers Expand Health Benefits During the Pandemic

The recent release of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer health benefits survey put data behind a number of trends that surfaced during the pandemic.

But a deeper look at the trends behind the numbers illustrates why many employees are feeling the pinch of rising health care costs and higher deductibles.

Among the report’s highlights:

• Average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% to an average of more than $22,000, with employees contributing nearly $6,000 of that cost. At the same time, wages rose 5% and inflation increased 1.9%.
• The average annual single deductible is now $1,669 — roughly what it has been over the last two years but up more than 68% since 2011.
• Among employers with at least 50 workers, 65% changed their telehealth coverage, 55% altered their wellness programs and 39% changed the ways through which enrollees could access mental health or substance-use benefits, including through telehealth.
• Among employers with 500 or more employees that offer prescription drug benefits in 2021, 18% have programs that exclude subsidies from prescription drug manufacturers, such as coupons, from counting toward an enrollee’s deductible or out-of-pocket limit.

All told, the growing share of workers with rising average deductibles over the past decade has increased the burden of deductibles by 92% across all covered workers, Health Affairs reports.