Dive Brief:
- U.S. employers expect their healthcare costs to rise by 7.7% in 2025, compared to 6.9% in 2024 and 6.5% the previous year, according to the results of WTW’s 2024 Best Practices in Healthcare Survey. Healthcare costs in the U.S. are now at a record high since the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Nearly half of the employers surveyed said healthcare costs will exceed budget projections this year, and they are focusing on competitive cost-effective plan designs to manage costs, WTW said.
- Fifty-two percent of employers said they will put programs in place to cut total costs, and 51% said they will choose plan design and network strategies that offer lower-cost, higher-quality providers and sites of care, per the survey.
Dive Insight:
About a third plan to shift costs to workers via premium contributions, and 20% expect to promote account-based health plans or high-deductible health plans, the survey found.
“With cost increases reaching a post-pandemic high, companies are concerned about the burden it’s putting on their workforces, especially since it affects decisions about insurance coverage and care,” Tim Stawicki, chief actuary of health and benefits at WTW. “To tackle high prices and other causes driving increased spending, companies are pursuing initiatives that are beyond cost-shifting.”
Those initiatives include alternative drug channels and pricing, per the survey. Twenty-one percent of employers are considering promoting drug discount cards or direct-to-consumer prescription delivery to cut out-of-pocket costs in the next two years.