Employers expect 7% increase in benefit costs

The cost of providing employee health care benefits at the nation’s largest employers is projected to increase by an average of 7 percent in 2014, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health.

The survey, based on responses from 108 of the nation’s largest corporations, also found more companies plan to offer workers a consumer-directed health plan as their only health benefits option in 2014. CDHPs, because of their high deductibles, are less expensive than preferred provider organizations and other more traditional plans.

That said, working for a mega-enterprise is a good thing, at least from the perspective of health care benefits.

The NBGH, a lobbying and research organization that represents large employers’ perspective on national health policy issues, said it found plenty of evidence that these companies are often doing much more than merely offering health coverage. 

For instance, big companies want to help workers control their weight. The study found that 66 percent of plans cover the cost of “surgical interventions for the treatment of severe obesity.” More than half offer on-site weight management programs.

Nearly half (44 percent) of respondents said they already have an on-site clinic, and another 9 percent said they’d have one by the end of next year.

Also, 89 percent pay for a tobacco cessation program, and nine in 10 have on-site health assessments and/or biometric screenings.