IFEBP: Public Employers Retrench

The financial crisis is forcing government agencies to think about ways to cut health benefits costs.

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Brookfield, Wis., has released evidence of that trend in a summary of results from a recent survey of benefits managers who work for public employers.

Public employers have resisted health plan changes, but now, 72% are increasing or considering an increase in employees’ deductibles, coinsurance or copays, and 74% are increasing or considering an increase in employee premiums, the IFEBP reports.