|
Dayton
Business Journal...
Poll:
Most expect insurance premiums
to climb in 2012
by Laura Englehart, Reporter
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Most
Dayton businesses expect their
health insurance premiums to increase in 2012, based on a Dayton
Business
Journal online poll.
Results
from 212 participants show
that nearly 80 percent expect their premiums to go up, but they were
split
almost evenly on how much. Forty percent responded that the cost would
increase
by “a lot,” and 39 percent said “a little.”
While
those answers provide a
subjective snapshot, a report released this past summer by
PricewaterhouseCoopers found employers could expect medical costs to
increase
nearly 9 percent in 2012; however, benefit plan design changes likely
will keep
those cost increases at an average of 7 percent.
PwC
listed several reasons for the
projected increases:
•
More health care providers, such as
hospitals and physicians, continue to consolidate;
•
Medicare and Medicaid costs continue
to shift to private payers; and
•
Post-recession stress continues to
build up on workers.
“Several
health plans interviewed
indicated that they were seeing more claims for stress-induced
illnesses,” the
PwC report said. “Specifically, as stress levels increase, health
becomes less
of a priority and people are less likely to maintain a healthy
lifestyle.”
The
report was based on an employer
survey and interviews with hospital executives and health plan
actuaries.
Locally,
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue
Shield, a subsidiary of WellPoint Inc.
, said many factors play into whether employer
insurance premiums go up
or down in a year, including a group’s size, claims and the type of
benefits
they choose to provide.
“Of
course, we all know health care
costs in general continue to rise,” said Kim Ashley, public relations
director
for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio. “We do have groups that
experience premium increases, but the good news is we have products and
programs to help offset those increases, so in many cases, we’re able
to help
employers keep costs flat, and hopefully, over the long term, actually
get
costs down.”
Insurance
plans that offer wellness
incentives for employees can reduce insurance claims and worker
absenteeism,
resulting in lower costs for employers, Ashley said.
Read
this and other articles at the
Dayton Business Journal
|
