Plan sponsors and employees alike will experience growing healthcare costs in the future despite the impact of healthcare reform legislation, according to one analysis.
Preliminary results from a recent report suggest that employer-sponsored health plan costs rose 5 percent this year, Plan Sponsor reports. While that is less than the 8.2 percent increase recorded in 2011, it remains significant. The number of Consumer-Directed Health Plans (CDHP), HMO and PPO plans which increased or implemented deductibles also rose. This indicates that the trend of shifting more costs to employees is continuing.
Almost two-thirds of plan participants in the United States are enrolled in PPO plans. Researchers found that health reform may have had some noticeable effects already, including causing an increase in the number of plans which offer an unlimited lifetime maximum benefit. These changes to employee benefit plan administration and design may take some time to settle, so their full effects will likely remain unclear at first.
If the study is correct, employers should anticipate some short-term cost growth. In the long-term, there are many changes to the healthcare industry and health insurance market that are only beginning, so it is more difficult to say what will occur.
