Health-Care Costs Are Shifting to Workers

From The Wall Street Journal:

The health-insurance landscape of American corporations is in flux right now, thanks to pressure to keep costs in line and the moving targets of the Affordable Care Act.

But a few trends are clear, according to a recent Towers Watson survey on employee benefits. The consulting company polled 595 U.S. employers with 1,000 or more employees, and the results confirm what many people already suspect: costs are shifting to workers, and employers are chipping away at the benefits they offer.

Among the key takeaways:

—Workers are paying more for employer-sponsored health insurance, in both premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Workers this year are paying about $100 more a month in medical costs than three years ago. In the past year alone, employees' share of premium costs rose to $2,975 from $2,782, on average, an increase of almost 7%. In all, workers are taking on 37% of total health-care expenses this year, up from 34.4% in 2011.

—Coverage for spouses won't last. Only 56% of companies say subsidized insurance for spouses is an important benefit in the future, compared with more than 70% that offer it today.

—The number of employers offering subsidized insurance to retired workers, especially those under age 65, is declining. More than 60% of companies that currently offer pre-65-year-old retirees access to an employer-sponsored plan say they expect to eliminate those programs in the next few years.

Employers may not even offer health insurance in a few years. Only 25% say they're confident they'll provide this benefit to workers by 2024.