INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Many workers will see their health insurance costs rise less next year than in more than a decade, partly because consumers are dialing back their health care use, a benefits consultant has found.
A survey from consultant Mercer of companies that offer employees health insurance shows the cost will rise an average of 5.4 percent in 2012. That compares with an average hike of 6.4 percent this year and it would be the smallest increase since 1997, according to data Mercer released Wednesday.
Employers say their health insurance costs would rise about 7 percent next year if they made no changes to the plans they offer; health care costs overall are continuing to rise much faster than inflation. But employers told Mercer they expect to whittle the increase workers see by taking such measures as raising deductibles or co-payments and switching insurers.
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