Mercer: High Deductibles Now The Norm

The typical group preferred provider organization plan deductible is now almost high enough to make the plan compatible with the health savings account program.

The individual group PPO plan deductible is know about $1,000, according to researchers at Mercer, New York, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., New York.

The researchers, who based that finding on a survey of 2,900 U.S. employers with 10 or more employees, note that the minimum deductible for a HSA-compatible health insurance plan is just $1,100.

As recently as 2000, only half of group PPO plans imposed any deductible, the researchers report.

The researchers found that the median PPO individual deductible is just $300 at employers with 500 or more employees.