In 2015, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) conducted their annual survey to examine employer-sponsored health benefits trends. Some of the main takeaways from the 2015 survey include:

Employer-Sponsored Coverage
Approximately 57 percent of employers offered health benefits to some of their employees, and 63 percent of workers at those companies elected coverage. Despite the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) “pay or play” penalties, this figure has remained largely unchanged from 2014 (55 percent of employers) and from 2005 (60 percent of employers).

Premiums and Worker Contributions
For single coverage, the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance was $6,251, and $17,545 for family coverage in 2015—marking a 4 percent increase from the prior year.

Covered workers contributed about 18 percent of the premium for single coverage, while employees paid, on average, 29 percent of the premium for family coverage. These figures have remained consistent with percentages reported in 2014 and 2010.

Plan Enrollment
High deductible health plans (HDHPs) continue to grow in popularity with 24 percent of employees choosing this type of plan in 2015 (a 4 percent increase from 2014).

Cost-sharing
While deductibles vary based on a company’s size, the average deductible for single coverage in 2015 was $1,318—up slightly from $1,217 in 2014.

Health Assessments
In 2015, 50 percent of large employers offered or required employees to complete a health risk assessment, a tool that asks a series of questions about one’s medical history and lifestyle to identify health risks.

Health risk assessments were more popular at large firms, with only 18 percent of small firms offering health risk assessments in 2015. To encourage participation, 62 percent of large businesses offered employees incentives for completing the assessment (up from 51 percent in 2014).

Fifty-six percent of large employers offered employees financial incentives to complete biometric screenings.

81 percent of large employers and 49 percent of small employers used wellness programs to encourage employees to live healthier, stop smoking and lose weight. To motivate employees, 38 percent of large firms and 15 percent of small businesses offered employees a monetary incentive for completing or participating in wellness programs.

Other Benefit Trends
To help employees manage their medical expenses, many companies are offering flexible spending accounts (FSAs). FSAs let employees pay for medical care expenses that are not covered by their insurance plans with pre-tax dollars. Seventy-four percent of large employers gave workers the opportunity to contribute to an FSA, while only 17 percent of small firms did.

The percentage of workers covered under self-funded plans remained similar from past years. In 2015, 63 percent of workers were enrolled in plans that were self-funded (either partially or fully). Of these individuals, 60 percent were covered by stop-loss insurance, which helps reduce the amount of risk associated with large individual claims or high claims for the entire plan.

ACA Response
In general, employer-sponsored health benefits remained consistent with years prior. According to this study, “Even with these new [ACA] requirements, most market fundamentals have stayed consistent with prior trends, suggesting that the implementation [of the ACA] has not caused significant disruption for most market participants.”

However, it remains to be seen whether this stability will continue. Market forces such as rising specialty drug prices, narrowing networks and the Cadillac tax implementation in 2020 could force employers to adjust their plan offerings and possibly increase cost-sharing to employees.

For more information contact your NEEBCo representative.

Employer Health Benefits 2015 Annual Survey