Health insurance to exceed $10,000 per employee in 2012, survey finds

By Karl Henkel | October 5, 2011 at 12:08a.m.

It’s barely October, but there’s one rising cost employers and employees need to allot for in 2012: health-care insurance.

Employers’ health-care costs are expected to top the $10,000 mark per employee for the first time in 2012.

Premiums are expected to rise 7 percent next year, slightly lower than the 7.5 increase between 2010 and 2011.

It’ll bring the total health-care premium per employee above $10,000, according to a new study from Aon Hewitt, a human resources consultant who surveyed 371 large employers throughout the U.S.

Employers project to spend $10,475 per employee in 2012, $1,364 more than they did two years ago.

“It doesn’t surprise us at all,” said Julie Ginnis, president of Partners Insurance Group LLC in Boardman. “I would have expected them to be a bit higher.”

Health maintenance organization plans are expected to jump 7.8 percent and average $11,151 next year. Preferred provider organizations and point-of-service plans will increase 6.6 percent and average $10,038 and $11,059, respectively.

Employees can expect to pay about 11 percent more, as national averages are expected to increase from $2,084 to $2,306.

Averages do not include out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments or co-insurance.

Averages for the Cleveland-Akron area, the closest available metropolitan area to the Mahoning Valley, mirrored national statistics.

Aon Hewitt said three main factors are driving health-care costs: quantity and cost of large claims, older work forces and poorer health.

Those large claims, Ginnis said, can be avoided if employees take preventive health measures.

Many large companies already have implemented wellness plans, which include incentives for employees who regularly attend medical appointments, quit smoking and adapt to healthier lifestyles.

But that trend hasn’t yet hit smaller companies of fewer than 100 employees, which Ginnis said could see premium increases of 15 percent or more.

“The things we can’t control [are] the aging population or the cost of the services the facilities are charging,” she said. “It goes back to putting some of the responsibility back on the employees.”