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Increasing employer premiums drive more cuts to insurance benefits

Employers are responding to the increase in health care premiums by continuing to pass the costs onto workers and also reducing their prescription drug coverage.

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert | Updated on October 31, 2017
More and more employers are also beginning to self-fund health plans in an effort to reduce costs. (Image: Shutterstock)

Employer premiums on health care plans rose higher this year than they have in the past five years – but employers are responding by continuing to pass the costs onto workers and also reducing their prescription drug coverage, according to the 2017 United Benefit Advisors Health Plan Survey.

Premium renewal rates for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.6 percent — a significant increase from the five-year average increase of 5.6 percent, according to responses from 20,099 health plans and 11,221 employers.

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Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a freelance writer based in Running Springs, Calif. She has more than three decades of journalism experience, with particular expertise in employee benefits and other human resource topics.

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