RIBGH hosts presentation on Mercer’s Healthcare Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Plans

PROVIDENCE – Mercer, the world’s largest human resources consulting firm, will make, for the first time in Providence, a presentation on its Annual National Healthcare Survey of Employer Sponsored Health Plans. The event, hosted by the Rhode Island Business Group on Health, is scheduled for Friday, March 10, from 7:30–11 a.m., at the Providence Marriott Downtown, One Orms St., Providence.

“We’re going to be presenting results specific to Rhode Island and New England,” said Liz Spath, a senior-benefits consultant in the Boston office of Mercer, which is headquartered in New York City. The annual survey, she said, includes 2,500 participants, some with only 10 employees and others that are Fortune 500 companies. To ensure the survey results are fairly representative and to reduce risk of bias, Mercer draws from a random sample of employers for the survey. Some Rhode Island companies responded to the most recent survey, although Spath declined to identify them.

Spath shared some of the results from the 191 New England respondents to the 2016 survey:

  • Total health benefit cost for active employees increased 4 percent in 2016, to an average of $14,022 per employee.
  • Asked about their 2017 costs, respondents estimated if they made no changes to
    their current plans, costs would rise by 6.5 percent. However, they expect to hold their cost
    increase to 3.8 percent through changes to their plans and/or plan vendors.
  • Sixty-four percent of respondents offered a high-deductible, consumer-directed health
    plan with an account feature, such as a Health Savings Account, in 2016.

While national data from 2016 show the average increase of 2.4 percent in total health benefits cost per employee was the lowest in decades, Spath said, “General inflation is only 1 percent. That [2.4 percent is] still a number that needs to be addressed and needs attention.”

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Further, Spath cautioned that employers initially saw an average of a 6.3 percent increase, but competitive bidding, negotiating with carriers and making some cost-shifting changes reduced that increase. While that work will have to continue, there’s only so much cost-shifting employers can put onto employees, especially those who are low-income, she said. At the presentation, Mercer will present information on these topics:

  • How can employers make high-deductible plans an effective tool in driving consumer decision-making?
  • What innovative programs show potential in making fundamental and beneficial changes to the nation’s health care system?
  • What can employers expect from the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress, and what are their legislative and regulatory priorities?

Reservations for the free event, which includes breakfast, are due by Feb. 28. For information, contact Eveline Case at (617) 747-9505. Register by clicking HERE.

To pre-order the full survey, which will be available for purchase later this spring, click HERE.

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