In another classic case of "Well, I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news," Mercer's latest study pins down the latest employee health care numbers.
The company's latest annual National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans – released less than two weeks ago – reveals that health benefit costs climbed 6.1 percent this year. The tab now runs $7,983 per employee in the United States – give or take a flu shot.
The good news? The annual increases appear to have stabilized over the last five years, and in fact, are expected to lose even more steam next year. At least according to those better with numbers than magazine editors.
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Don't think I forgot the bad news. The Mercer findings show that health care costs still run twice the rate of inflation, lapping wages and draining employer profits.
And that, of course, leads to more bad news. In the absence of better solutions, employers continue to drop coverage at an alarming rate. Among smaller and mid-size employers – those with less than 200 workers – health coverage fell to 61 percent. That's down from 63 percent last year and 66 percent five years ago.
I'm no policy expert, but I can dream up few things worse than federal health care. After more than 90 years, they still can't figure out income taxes, which would make for one messy, crowded waiting room at your local emergency room.
But, potential (or former) customers who can't afford your product rank right up there.
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