Employers looking to decrease health benefit costs: 8 insights

Many employers are seeking ways to limit rising health benefit costs, based on an Arlington, Va.-based Corporate Executive Board and Birmingham, Ala.-based DirectPath report, according to Business Insurance.

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Here are eight insights:

1. Some employers are placing more costs on employees via higher deductibles and copays.

2. This shift supports employees’ use of alternative care, like telemedicine.

3. Twenty-eight percent of organizations offer high deductible health plans, with a minimum deductible of $1,300 for individual coverage and $2,600 for family coverage.

4. The report found the average in-network annual deductibles increased 40 percent.

5. Thirty-seven percent of employers offer virtual care.

6. Of employers studied, 57 percent offer wellness incentives, ranging between $52 and $1,600 per year.

7. On average, the in-network copay for outpatient surgery decreased 25 percent to $41 in 2016.

8. On average, the in-network emergency room copay increased 22 percent to $142 in 2016.

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