Medical Tourism Reaches Benefits Radar Screen

Employers with leading-edge benefits packages are continuing to look for new ways to set themselves apart from the competition.

Researchers at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Brookfield, Wis., have mapped some of the changes in a summary of results from an informal survey of large employers’ health care benefits eligibility, coverage and exclusion choices.

Participants in the survey included representatives from about 400 U.S. employers, professional services providers, public employers and multiemployer plans.

About 99.7% of the participants affiliated with individual employers said their employers offer health benefits for full-time employees, and 50% cover part-time employees.

Today, 92% cover opposite-sex spouses, and 37% cover same-sex unmarried domestic partners.