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Health
Care Costs Rocket Employees
Vs. Employers
New
Workforce Offerings
HR
TECHNOLOGY SAVES MONEY <
Perfect
Storm strikes CEO's
FAQs
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U.S.
COMPANIES TO GIVE WORKERS MORE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEALTH CARE BENEFITS
WASHINGTON,
May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. workers can
expect to take on more responsibility for
their own health care needs and costs as
companies re- evaluate how they manage
and administer their benefits programs,
according to a survey of large employers
conducted jointly by Watson Wyatt and the
Washington Business Group on Health.
More than 70 percent of the 292 large
employers surveyed indicated that they
made major changes in their health care
strategy in the past year. Furthermore,
with health care costs expected to rise
14 percent this year, only one-third
(34%) of respondents say they are willing
or able to fully absorb cost increases,
far fewer than the 50 percent who said
they could or would absorb increases the
previous year.
"There has been a clear shift in
employer attitude and approach to
containing health care costs within the
last year," says Maureen Cotter,
global practice director of group and
health care consulting at Watson Wyatt.
"Employers are indicating that
promoting individual responsibility for
their own health care is a critical goal
of their overall program. Increasingly,
they are informing and empowering workers
to make cost-effective decisions about
the type and amount of health care that
is right for them."
Indeed, 43 percent of employers expect to
increase the level of
"consumerism" in their health
plans in the coming year, compared with
19 percent that currently have such
systems in place. Moreover, the
percentage of employers that are
providing employees with access to health
care information is expected to double
over the next year.
"While some equate so-called
`defined-contribution health plans' with
consumerism, it is clear that employers
see it more broadly -- more as a
commitment to a philosophy or approach
than simply to a particular health plan
design," said Helen Darling,
president of the Washington Business
Group on Health. "As our survey
shows, there is considerably more
momentum around providing critical health
care information and decision support
tools to employees than around providing
them with direct access to purchasing
insurance."
The survey noted that most employers are
optimistic about consumer-driven
approaches to health care, but
acknowledge some trade-offs. Copies of
the survey, "New Rules for Managing
Health Costs," are available at <http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/reports.asp>.
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