Mercer Annual Survey Finds Health Benefit Cost Growth Will Hold at 4.1% in 2019
12 9월 2018 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
High-tech/high touch point solutions, integrated platforms, and
predictive analytics are just some of the ways employers are
deriving higher value from health benefit offerings
Highlighting the many ways that health technology is
transforming employer-sponsored health benefit programs, Mercer
unveiled early results from its industry-leading survey at this
year’s HR Technology Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Based on
the first 1,566 responses1 to the Mercer National Survey of
Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Mercer projects that health
benefit cost per employee will rise by 4.1% on average in 2019.
This increase is in line with recent low single-digit annual
increases. Mercer notes that the underlying medical plan cost trend
has cooled from 6.5% to 5.3% heading into 2019 (the underlying
trend is the estimated increase in medical plan cost if employers
made no changes). In past years, common employer cost-control
tactics included raising deductibles and offering less generous
plans. For 2019, however, fewer than half of the responding
employers (44%) will be making these types of changes. But many
employers are adopting new technology-enabled tools and solutions
to address the root causes of the high cost of health care without
cutting benefits or increasing the financial burden on
employees.
“The improvement in the underlying medical plan trend is
encouraging because those savings are not solely coming from
shifting cost to employees,” said Tracy Watts, Senior Partner and
Mercer’s Leader for Health Reform. “It suggests that there is a
‘quiet revolution’ going on in organizations as they deploy more
innovative health benefit strategies – and that these have started
to pay off.”
In its work helping to design health benefit plans for employers
of all sizes, Mercer has found three technology strategies are key
in driving higher-value health care:
Target specific health problems. More than half of
midsize and large employers with 500 or more employees (58%) now
offer one or more “point solutions,” -- high-tech, high-touch
programs designed to help members with specific health issues
ranging from insomnia to infertility. A targeted program for
diabetics, for example, might offer both coaching and an
interactive glucose monitor that can transmit data to a provider.
Success is measured in quality of life improvement and fewer trips
to the emergency room.
Make it easy to engage. Today 18% of mid-sized and large
employers make all or most of their benefit offerings accessible to
employees on a single, fully integrated platform. Another 19% say
they are working towards full integration. Like the modern, online
shopping experience, an integrated platform helps employees more
easily engage with health and well-being vendors and find the
resources they need.
Mine health plan and employee data for actionable
insights. Most employers with 500 or more employees (77%)
already use a data warehouse or get the data they need from plan
vendors to inform their health plan strategy. But some of these
employers (16%) are further ahead, using predictive analytics to
identify future opportunities to improve health plan performance –
or even health outcomes. For example, claims data can be
continuously scanned for clusters of services that indicate a plan
member might be heading toward a back surgery, such as multiple
trips to a chiropractor followed by a low-back MRI. Timely
outreach could help this member avoid unnecessary back surgery --
or undergo surgery in a high-quality, cost-efficient setting.
“Employers have realized that it’s up to them to solve the
problems of high cost, inconsistent quality, and low satisfaction
that plague the US healthcare system,” said Renya Spak, Leader of
Mercer’s Center for Health Innovation. “Without question,
technology is going to be part of just about every meaningful
solution.”
1The complete survey results based on responses from nearly
2,400 employers will be released later this year, and will look at
the full range of strategies employers are using to manage
cost.
About Mercer
Mercer delivers advice and technology-driven solutions that help
organizations meet the health, wealth and career needs of a
changing workforce. Mercer’s more than 23,000 employees are based
in 44 countries and the firm operates in over 130 countries. Mercer
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies
(NYSE: MMC), the leading global professional services firm in the
areas of risk, strategy and people. With nearly 65,000 colleagues
and annual revenue over $14 billion, through its market-leading
companies including Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman, Marsh
& McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and
complex environment. For more information, visit www.mercer.com.
Follow Mercer on Twitter @Mercer.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180912005185/en/
MercerBruce Lee, +1 212-345-0553bruce.lee@mercer.com
Marsh and McLennan Compa... (NYSE:MMC)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024
Marsh and McLennan Compa... (NYSE:MMC)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 7월(7) 2023 으로 7월(7) 2024