What is this about?

These two articles capsulize recent major patterns in U.S. health care costs.  The two articles are full of data on patterns and trends in employer health costs and provide a very useful backdrop for examining national and employer health cost trends.

Some of the major findings contained in these two documents include:

In 2018:

• National health care costs went up 4.6% to $3.6 trillion or 17.7% of our GDP.
• That represents $11,172 for each of the 326.6 million individuals in the U.S.
• Cost of private health insurance increased at a rate of 5.8% while Medicare cost increased at a rate of 6.4%.
• Cost of private health insurance increased 3 times the rate of growth in the Consumer Price Index (1.9%).
• Hospital care consumed 38.7% of all personal health care expense and is the largest single element.

In 2019:

• The average annual premium for single employee health plan coverage rose 4% to $7,188.
• The average annual premium for family health plan coverage rose 5% to $20,576.
• Covered workers provided 18% of the cost for single coverage and 30% of the cost of family coverage.
• 61% of workers are in plans that are completely or partially self-insured.
• Average deductible for single coverage was $1,655 and $2,271 for family coverage.

 Why is this important?

These 2 reports provide a national backdrop for employer health benefit cost trends and since employee health plan cost is one of the primary reasons employers establish employee wellness programs it is important for reference purposes in the justification and funding of these programs.  Health benefit costs are somewhat complex to understand and are difficult to affect without utilizing specific strategies in an employer wellness program.

What can you do with this document?

• First, skim the 2 articles to get a sense of the content and data categories.
• Next, determine what type of information can be utilized in your own program justification and budgeting and by your benefits staff.
• Then, share this information with your HR and benefits staff.
• Then, decide how else you can use this information to help employees and management staff understand their health benefits better and specifically the role the wellness program plays in their long term management.

In summary, this document contains 2 major peer review articles that highlight national and employer-specific patterns in health care costs for 2018 and 2019.  They provide a useful set of comparison points for analysis of individual employer health benefit experience.