Dive Brief:
- Nearly four in five employers (78%) project moderate to significant changes in their health plan designs and vendor strategies over the next four years, according to a survey of U.S. employers by Willis Towers Watson.
- The reason? After the expected changes, intended to manage health care costs and improve their plans’ value, employers anticipate cost increases in 2016 to be around 4% (for the second consecutive year). Though the smallest increase in 15 years, it's still twice the Consumer Price Index, the 2016 Emerging Trends in Health Care Survey found.
- Also, the report uncovered that more than two-thirds of employers (70%) said the two-year delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-value health plans will have a small or negligible impact on their health care strategies for 2017.
Dive Insight:
Randall Abbott, senior health and benefit strategist, Willis Towers Watson, says employers are motivated primarily by the desire to manage cost growth and improve the value of the plans they deliver.
The survey’s findings provide examples of options employers are adopting in greater numbers, including telemedicine. 67% of employers offer the option today and by 2018, that number could increase to 90%. Others include:
- Centers of excellence. 31% of employers are using them today. By 2018, that number could grow to 73%.
- High-performance provider networks. 13% offer the option today. By 2018, that number could rise to 56%.
- Onsite or near-site health centers. 22% of employers have one or more today. By 2018, that number could grow to 40%.
- Technology to improve employee engagement. 52% of employers currently use technology to enable employees to make better plan selections. Another 37% could follow in their footsteps by 2018.
