Despite group health insurance costs expected to rise 5.4% this year, the tight labor market is forcing employers to prioritize enhancing benefits over cost-cutting measures, according to a new report by Mercer.
With Americans increasingly struggling to pay their health care bills, more employers are shying away from only offering their workers high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that reduce premiums up front for higher out-of-pocket costs for workers.
Also, with mental health a top concern for workers, employers are seeking out benefits and plans that include virtual mental health services to make it easier to access care.
The expected health insurance cost growth of 5.4% is still less than general inflation, which was averaging just a tad below 8% in 2022. Because of high inflation, employers should be prepared for continued accelerated cost growth in 2024 and beyond, according to Mercer.
What employers are doing
With the tight labor market and health insurance benefits high on employees’ demands, employers are focusing on:
Enhancing benefits to improve attraction and retention (84% of large employers cited this as “important” or “very important”).
Adding programs/services to expand access to behavioral health care and mental health services (73% said this was important or very important).
Improving health care affordability (68%).
Enhancing benefits/resources to support women’s reproductive health (55%).
That’s not to say that employers are not concerned about costs. Instead, they are tackling it in different ways than in the past.
“Given the focus on affordability, it is not surprising that, despite expectations of higher healthcare costs, most leaders are avoiding ‘healthcare cost shifting,’ or giving plan members more responsibility for the cost of health services through higher deductibles or copays,” Mercer wrote.
It added that there was little change in the median amount of these cost-sharing features in 2022.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were shifting workers to HDHPs to reduce their costs, but while employees enjoy lower premiums with these plans, if they need care they will pay more out of pocket.
Mercer found that fewer large employers are offering only HDHPs than in past years. Very large organizations (20,000 or more employees) had been adopting these plans with gusto until 2018, when 22% of them offered an HDHP as the only option for their employees. That fell to 13% in 2021 and was only 9% in 2022.
Instead, more employers were using salary-based premiums in 2022 (34%, up from 29% in 2021). Under these arrangements, lower-wage workers have smaller paycheck deductions for health coverage than those with higher salaries.
Cost-cutting
Employers are instead looking at other ways to cut costs for themselves and their employees. The Mercer study found that:
35% of large employers are steering employees to high-performing provider networks and other sources of high-value care.
36% of large employers offer telephonic navigation and advocacy service to help members find the right provider based on quality and cost.
17 % offer digital navigation.
24% are focusing on managing costs of specialty drugs.
23% are working with their carriers and pharmacy benefits managers on cost and clinical management strategies.
As more health services are being rendered through providers’ patient portals and telemedicine, some providers are starting to bill for some of those interactions.
A number of health systems around the country have started billing for certain types of messages, largely ones that are involved in clinical assessments or medical history reviews that take more than five minutes. Those costs will be passed on to health plan enrollees — likely in the form of copays or coinsurance — and insurers.
Online and app-based portals have become increasingly popular, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people grow accustomed to not seeing their doctor face to face for every visit. Often these portals will allow the health plan enrollee to ask their care team questions, and that’s when providers say they are not being paid for their time.
Is a new trend starting?
Patient portals were seeing little usage prior to the pandemic, which spurred demand as patients and providers needed a solution that didn’t require in-person interactions. Studies have shown that more than 80% of patients used telehealth at least once since the start of the pandemic, up from about 10% prior to 2020.
These portals also sometimes obviated the need even for a tele-visit with a doctor and opened the door for patients to message their doctor directly.
The issue recently came to the fore when Cleveland Clinic and a handful of other medical centers started charging for this service.
Cleveland Clinic in November 2022 said it would start billing patients’ insurance companies for messages requiring at least five minutes of health care providers’ time to answer.
What will it cost?
Sending messages could cost as much as $50 per message depending on the time and skill necessary to answer the request. According to the announcement, people with individual or employer-sponsored group health insurance may be billed an average of $33 to $50 for each message taking more than five minutes.
In announcing the new charges, Cleveland Clinic wrote: “Over the last few years, virtual options have played a bigger role in our lives. And since 2019, the amount of messages providers have been answering has doubled.”
According to a report in Becker’s Health IT, seven more large health systems around the country have also started billing for some patient portal services: Northshore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois; Northwestern Medicine in Chicago; Chicago-based Lurie’s Children’s Hospital; San Francisco-based UCSF Health; Renton, Washington-based Providence; and UW Medicine and Fred Hutch Cancer Center, which both have their headquarters in Seattle.
These hospitals say they will only bill for certain messages, such as those concerning:
Changes to a patient’s medications.
New symptoms the patient may be experiencing.
Changes to a long-term condition.
Check-ups on long-term condition care.
Requests to complete medical forms.
Messages may provide information on a treatment plan or recommend that the patient get a test done or schedule an appointment with a specialist. Doctors may often refer to the patient’s medical history and review their records for these communications, for example.
The providers say that other services on portals will remain free, such as:
Scheduling appointments.
Getting a prescription refilled.
Asking a question that leads to an appointment.
Asking a question about an issue the patient saw their provider for recently.
Checking in as a part of follow-up care after a procedure, such as a colonoscopy.
A patient giving a quick update to their doctor.
Experts predict that as more health services gravitate towards providers’ portals, hospitals and doctors will look to generate revenue from these services.
As many as 9 million surprise medical bills have been prevented since January 2022 due to the impact of the No Surprises Act, according to a new report.
This is the first data that indicates the law, aimed at eliminating surprise medical billing for insured patients getting emergency treatment, is working. The number of claims subject to protections of the law have far exceeded the federal government’s initial prediction, the report by AHIP Health Policy & Markets Forum and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association found.
If you have not made your employees aware of this groundbreaking law, you should, as Americans are tagged with billions of dollars a year in surprise bills when they go out of network, even if they don’t know it.
Often these bills come after going to an in-network hospital but either the doctor, the lab or the anesthesiologist were out of network.
Surprise billing is also common in medical emergencies, when an ambulance takes a patient to the closest ER – and frequently at a hospital that’s not in the patient’s network. The patient is normally in no condition to check his or her plan for in-network providers.
The No Surprises Act
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act banned surprise medical billing in most instances. The purpose of the law was to reduce surprise medical billing for insured patients receiving emergency treatment.
However, the law provides patients additional rights in some non-emergency situations, as well.
To help control your employees’ medical costs, it’s a good idea for plan sponsors to make sure workers and their families understand how the law works, so they can assert their rights under the act.
Emergency services
The act prohibits in-network hospitals and other providers from billing patients for any out-of-network charges for emergency services. The most the in-network provider can bill the patient for is their plan’s maximum in-network cost-sharing amounts.
So, if a patient is admitted to the ER and they must have an emergency surgery, and the surgeon or anesthesiologist is out of network, the hospital cannot bill the patient any more than they would have billed them had the surgeon or anesthesiologist been in the plan’s network.
Patients must still pay their deductible, copays and co-insurance amounts.
Providers cannot bill patients with insurance for anything beyond that.
Uninsured patients
Patients who are uninsured, or who are self-paying for care scheduled in advance (i.e., non-emergency care), are entitled to a “good faith estimate” from their providers.
If the patient gets a bill for anything more than that estimate, plus $400, they have 120 days from receipt to contest the bill.
Waiving rights
Some providers may ask your employees to sign a document that waives their rights under the law. However, the No Surprises Act prohibits waivers for any of these services:
Emergency care
Unforeseen urgent medical needs during non-emergency care
Ancillary services
Hospitalist charges
Assistant surgeon charges
Out-of-network provider services when no in-network alternative is available
Diagnostic services.
Key points for covered employees
You are not required to waive your rights under the No Surprises Act.
You are not required to use out-of-network providers. You can seek non-emergency care in-network.
Your plan must cover emergency services without requiring preauthorization.
Your plan must cover emergency services by out-of-network providers.
Your plan must apply any amounts you pay for emergency or out-of-network services towards your deductible and out-of-pocket limits.
More employers are opting to fund accounts that their employees can draw on to purchase their own health insurance, either on an Affordable Care Act exchange or on the open individual market, according to a new report.
Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) offer employees a set budget for premiums, allowing them to pick the health care plan that works best for them.
Some companies have been exploring these arrangements in lieu of providing their group health benefits, in order to save money and reduce the administrative burden, according to the “2022 ICHRA Report” by PeopleKeep, a human resources software company.
The average amount employers funded ICHRAs with was $981 per employee in the year ended June 30, 2022, according to the report. That is twice as much that’s needed to purchase the average lowest-cost gold plan on the marketplace.
But these plans have their drawbacks and are not for all employers. So, it’s important to understand how they work and their limitations.
The ICHRA explained
ICHRAs, created by regulations promulgated by the IRS in 2019, allow employers subject to ACA coverage requirements to forgo purchasing insurance for employees and instead provide extra funds for them to purchase their own health insurance coverage. Here are some ICHRA basics:
Regulations allow for employers to offer ICHRAs to some of their employees, and group health benefits to others.
Some accounts are restricted to reimbursing only for health insurance premiums, while others also reimburse for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Unspent funds can be saved over the course of the pay period for expenses in the calendar year.
Every pay period, the employer will fund the account with a set amount over the course of the year. The employee will pay for their premiums and get reimbursed by showing proof of payment.
Employees don’t pay taxes on health care spending reimbursed through the ICHRA.
Accounts are not portable when employment ends.
For applicable large employers subject to the ACA employer mandate, the ICHRA funding must meet the ACA’s coverage and affordability requirements and be enough to purchase the lowest-cost silver plan on the marketplace.
There is no limit on how much an employer can fund the account with.
Not a good fit for all firms
There are many restrictions to ICHRAs as well as drawbacks which employers need to consider:
The employee loses the employer-sponsored coverage they’re accustomed to and has to fend for themselves to find coverage that fits within the budget their employer provides. This could cause employee resentment.
Offering group health plans to salaried employees and higher-wage staff and ICHRAs to lower-wage workers, who may view it as a two-tier system, could again cause resentment.
Having an ICHRA could affect recruitment efforts and retention, as most workers have grown accustomed to their group health benefits.
Employees may choose plans that leave them with either higher premiums than they’d pay for a group plan, or higher out-of-pocket expenses on the back end.
Employees must use the funds to purchase health insurance and they may not be enrolled in their spouse’s health plan.
If your ICHRA is considered affordable according to ACA rules, employees lose the premium tax credit if they opt out of the ICHRA. If your ICHRA is considered unaffordable under ACA rules, they can claim the premium tax credit and waive their right to the ICHRA.
Businesses most suited for ICHRAs
These plans often work best for operations that have:
High staff turnover.
A large number of lower-paid workers.
A mix of salaried and hourly workers.
A mix of employees at the company site and remote workers in other regions.
The takeaway
Sticking with a traditional group health plan can help you with recruitment and retention, but for some employers who look to attract workers who do not put a priority on employee benefits, these types of plans could be a good fit.
Making a move to one of these plans takes careful consideration and planning. We can help you sort through the facts and fiction about these accounts.
Inflation, an aging workforce and people catching up on care they skipped during the COVID-19 pandemic are some of the main ingredients that will drive the cost of group health benefits over the coming years.
The key for employers grappling with these higher costs is how they can reduce their impact by switching up plan offerings and choosing plans that do a good job of managing specialty drug costs, which have been spiraling over the last decade.
Health spending dropped considerably in 2020 and 2021 as people stayed away from health care environments, but now people are back seeking care that was delayed. That’s caused a sudden spike in claims for health plans across the board.
Also, more health plans have boosted their mental health offerings, which patients have been taking advantage of, leading to further outlays, according to a recent report by Marsh McLennan Agency.
While there is not much employers can do about rising premiums, a combination of measures could help businesses defray cost increases in the near term.
Compare insurance plans and providers
If you’ve been offering the same plans every year, we can work with you to compare providers to see if there are better deals for you among their competitors.
Also, plans can vary greatly among insurance plans and each insurer will have different deals to offer. Even your current slate of insurers may have plans that you are not offering.
We can help you cut through the noise and find plans that may be a better fit for your organization.
It is important to keep in mind that a lower premium does not mean it’s the best deal. Some lower-cost plans may have narrower networks, which could result in some employees losing access to their regular doctors.
That said, there’s been a trend towards so-called “high-performance,” narrow provider networks that aim to reduce costs while maintaining efficiencies and quality of care.
Other cost-saving measures
Insurance carriers have been trying out new approaches to controlling costs, while improving health outcomes for their plan enrollees. Money spent up front on quality health services can yield future savings if the patient needs less treatment.
Some insurers and self-insured employers have been able to generate savings of 5 to 15% by employing:
Tiered networks — These health plans sort providers into tiers based on their cost and, often, quality relative to other similar providers who treat comparable patients. Providers with higher quality and lower cost are typically given the most-preferred tier rankings.
Centers of excellence — Many self-insured employers and more health plans are also contracting with “centers of excellence.” While there is no specific definition of a COE, these providers deliver positive patient outcomes, lower costs, raise member engagement and have high rates of patient satisfaction.
Often, an OEC may have a specialty, like a chronic disease or a specific service such as radiology. Working in tandem with a clinical analytics vendor, payers will connect members with health systems that demonstrate high performance in these areas.
Referral management — More health plans are also starting to use referral management software to improve efficiency and trust in care coordination.
These systems synchronize patient data transmission from one physician to another, and also to the patient. A referral management system aims to facilitate good communication between the consultant, specialist, health care provider and the patient.
The system increases trustworthiness and transparency of treatment and diagnosis, and decreases inefficiency in care coordination and operational arrangements.
The above measures can be applied across the care continuum — hospitals, primary care, specialty groups, post-acute providers and ancillary care — while maintaining access and quality of care.
The takeaway
Getting the cost equation right will be a challenge in the coming years as premiums are expected to rise at a faster clip than they have been in the last five years.
Talk to us about finding health plans that are offering different structures for addressing costs while also improving care for your workers.
The IRS has released the 2023 maximum contribution amounts for health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. You’ll want to make note of the changes when discussing your employee benefits during annual open enrollment.
The changes, which the IRS releases in November each year, will affect contribution limits for HSAs, FSAs and 401(k) and other retirement accounts.
The maximum contribution levels are readjusted every year to account for inflation, along with maximum retirement plan contribution limits.
They also cover the minimum deductibles that qualify programs as high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), which an HSA must be attached to under law.
Here’s the rundown of the changes going into 2023:
HSAs and HDHPs
HSAs allow your staff to set aside a portion of their pre-tax earnings into an account they can tap later to reimburse for qualified medical expenses, including copays, coinsurance, deductibles and medications.
Every year, the employee must decide how much they want their employer to deduct (pre-tax) from their paycheck to set aside in their HSA. Funds in an HSA can be rolled over indefinitely year after year and invested, much like a 401(k) plan.
$3,850 for self-only coverage (up $200 from 2022); and
$7,750 for family coverage (up $450).
In order to have an HSA, an employee must be enrolled in an HDHP. To qualify, the health insurance plan must have a minimum deductible of:
$1,500 for self-only coverage (up $100 from 2022); or
$3,000 for family coverage (up $200).
FSAs
FSAs are similar to HSAs in that they are funded with pre-tax dollars and can be used to reimburse for qualified medical expenses. However, the funds in the account must be exhausted or the employee loses the rest, except if the employer allows them to carry over a set portion every year.
The annual contribution limit for 2023 has increased to $3,050, up $200 from 2022.
Employers, under the law, may allow employees to carry over FSA funds from one year to the next. Under this option, an employee can carry over up to $610 of unused funds to the following plan year.
In other words, a worker with $610 of unspent FSA funds at the end of 2023 could carry over those funds for use in in 2024. The catch: These funds must be spent by March 15, 2024.
The maximum for the current year is $570, and your employees, if you allow it, would have until March 15, 2023 to spend those funds.
Retirement plan maximums
In 2023, employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans will be able to contribute up to $22,500, up from $20,500 in 2022.
Staff aged 50 or older can include a catch-up contribution of $7,500 per year, up from $6,500.
Also, the limits on annual contributions to an individual retirement arrangement have been increased to $6,500, up from $6,000 — although the IRA catch-up limit for people age 50 and over is the same: $1,000.
The takeaway
As we enter the final stretch of 2022, it’s important that you inform your employees of these new limits so they can plan their salary deductions accordingly.
