Employers increasingly offer deductibles of $4K or more, survey indicates

High-deductible health plan increases［ay drive higher‘mployee｛ut-of-pocket healthcare spend, research indicates.

July 22, 2024 - HR Dive
Emilie Shumwaym, Editor

Dive Brief:

• There has been a “notable jump” in the percentage of employers offering deductibles of $4,000 or more ・from 36% to 45% - according to a survey of more than 6,000 employers conducted by employee benefits firm Alera Group.
• More companies are also offering qualified high-deductible health plans (up from 47% to 52%), Alera Group found. The survey also found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that 4 in 5 medical plans experienced a rate increase over the past year.
• Employers appear to be managing increased costs by providing more choices, with more than half of large employers offering three or more plan options. More employers are also exploring self-funding, Alera Group found.

Dive Insight:

While it’s too early to determine if the increase in high deductible offerings will become a trend, Alera Group said, it is a data point to watch. The majority of survey participants (60%) said they offered deductibles in the $2,000-$3,999 range.

A 2022 report from Employee Benefits Research Institute found that an increase in high-deductible health plans may be driving a related rise in employees’ out-of-pocket healthcare spend.

Employers’ need to control rising healthcare costs has been in tension with their desire to meet employees’ financial wellness needs, EBRI pointed out. On one hand, benefits professionals are exploring a range of financial benefits, from emergency savings plans to housing assistance, to help workers feel more financially secure. On the other hand, workers’ rising costs from high-deductible health plans and higher premiums could tank those efforts.

Many employers appear aware of the strain workers are feeling from more expensive care; Mercer recently found that while 45% of organizations said they are likely to shift rising healthcare costs onto workers, 47% said they were not likely to do so. Many said they were looking into alternative strategies like high-performance networks or enhanced clinical case management.