Health care claim costs may rise 10.5 percent | Arthritis Information

 

INDIANAPOLIS - Costs for employer-provided health plans are expected to rise more than 10 percent within the next 12 months, a jump workers may feel in their paychecks or through changes to their insurance coverage.

An aging population, rising costs and growing patient demand for services are among the reasons for the higher costs cited in an Aon Consulting report released Tuesday.

Aon Consulting, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Aon Corp., surveyed about 60 health insurers around the country earlier this year. The study found that, on average, insurers expect to pay out 10.5 percent more in claims costs in the next year — slightly less than the 10.6 percent increase forecast last year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32551687/ns/business-us_business/Excerpts from the article:

" . . . Some employers . . . might swallow the higher costs. . .

. . . others may ask workers to pay more through increased deductibles or copayments. They could make changes to the plans they offer, such as eliminating a traditional plan and offering a consumer-directed, high-deductible plan instead.

. . . Companies also could deal with rising health care costs by limiting pay increases. . .

. . . the impact from any reform push likely won't be felt for a couple years, notes Antos (an economist with the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research).

"None of it will affect workers next year," (said Antos)


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