COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new KFF study found the cost of health insurance premiums is up compared to last year. For family coverage under an employer-sponsored benefits plan, it’s up 7% to $25,572.
For the most part, workers have only seen a slight increase in contributions with employers eating most of the cost.
“I think many employers are aware of the affordability challenges for many people to enroll employer-sponsored coverage that said premiums are really growing,” said Matthew Rae, the associate director of health care marketplace project at KFF. “There's only so long that employers can bear that cost before those costs get passed on to workers. This year, we saw that premiums go over 7%, it’s a big number, and healthcare cost is just something that's gone up a lot over time.”
KFF also found more employers are offering coverage for weight loss drugs, as an incentive. In the survey, 16% say its “very important” for employees’ satisfaction with their health plan to include GLP-1 medications in coverage.
“I think these drugs are so astronomically expensive that employers really are trying to sort this out, how much can they afford? How much will these drugs have on their overall spending, both by reducing spending and other conditions, reducing problems with other treatments related to weight,” said Rae. “About a fifth of employers tell us that they offer it. I think a lot of them have very many restrictions on this use. You've got to see a dietitian, you have to have a BMI threshold much, much higher than what's indicated by the FDA, or have sort of other eligibility criteria.”
Rae says for specific questions about what your plan covers, contact your human resources department.