Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Insurance
August 18, 2020 03:12 PM

Job-based health coverage will be more expensive in 2021

Shelby Livingston
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Modern Healthcare Illustration / Getty Images

    Large employers expect the cost of providing health coverage to workers to increase next year, as employees seek care they put off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Companies anticipate that health benefit costs will grow 5.3% in 2021, an increase slightly higher than the 5% increases employers projected in each of the last five years, according to the latest annual survey big employers by the Business Group on Health.

    The average cost of coverage, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs paid by workers and their families, would reach roughly $15,550, up from an estimated $14,769 this year. Employees would shoulder about $4,665 of that.

    In past years, employers have repeatedly overestimated their benefit costs. Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health, said Tuesday that there's a fair degree of uncertainty in the projections for next year, since it's unclear when the care that patients deferred during the pandemic will be rescheduled.

    It's also possible that chronic conditions that went unmanaged could worsen in coming years and become more costly. If that's the case, employers may be underestimating costs for 2021, she said.

    "There is a lot of uncertainty around what is actually going to manifest itself in terms of cost both this year and next year," Kelsay said. "Many employers are also having a really hard time from a budgeting and actuarial perspective working with their health plans and consulting partners to really get a good handle of what that means."

    Even though benefit costs may increase next year, Kelsay said she doesn't expect significant premium increases. In some cases, premiums may even decrease.

    "I think what you're also going to see is some employers hedging because they're not really sure what the future is going to look like in 2021," she said. "The worse thing they could do is to reduce premiums this year and then to snap back with some significant jump next year."

    Several health insurers have provided premium discounts to plan members in recent months to return excess premium revenue they collected while patients weren't going to the doctor or getting expensive elective procedures. Self-funded employers have invested in their employees in other ways, including adding flexibility around paid leave or increasing access to virtual care, Kelsay explained.

    According to the survey, 76% of employers made changes to increase access to virtual care, and 71% sped up telehealth and other virtual health benefits during the pandemic. Additionally, 71% said they offered paid administrative or emergency leave to employees, and 43% said they added new mental health benefits to support employees working from home.

    The pandemic has also influenced employers' long-term healthcare strategies. Already, most companies provide telehealth to their workers for minor services or mental healthcare. But for the coming years, more employers said they plan to offer telehealth for other services, including weight management, diabetes care management, dermatology and physical therapy, chronic kidney disease.

    According to the survey, 54% plan to extend lower or no-cost mental telehealth services to workers next year. Nearly nine in 10 companies plan to offer more online resources on mental health, including apps, articles videos and webinars, up from 69% this year. About 65% of employers said they plan to train managers to recognize mental health issues and direct workers to services, an increase from 47%.

    Interestingly, while many employees are still working from home amid the coronavirus crisis, employers plan to keep investing in on-site clinics. About 58% of large employers surveyed already have an onsite clinic, but that figure may rise to 72% by 2023. About a third of employers already offer primary care at the worksite, but an additional 26% plan to in the next few years.

    The Business Group on Health surveyed 122 large employers covering 9 million people. Most of the companies surveyed employed more than 10,000 workers and about a quarter employed more than 50,000. The companies came from a diverse group of industries.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    patient and money_i.png
    Supreme Court dialysis ruling sets stage for coverage limits
    insurance1_i.png
    Colorado gets OK to amend federal waiver, will launch public option
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Finance Newsletter: Sign up to receive daily news and data that has a direct impact on the business and financing of healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
      • Custom Media Event: ESG Summit
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing