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Employees in the U.S. soon will be asked to make decisions about their 2013 health care benefits during what most companies call open enrollment season.
According to Aon Hewitt, Aon’s global human resources division, the benefits offered to employees next year may be affected by a number of factors, including rising health care costs, the declining health of the population and phase-in of provisions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
According to Aon Hewitt, 55% of employees default to their current health care benefit coverage for the coming year, instead of actively reassessing their plan options. What many workers do not realize is that the old selection may not be the best option.
Aon Hewitt data shows health care costs are expected to rise 6.3% in 2013 to $11,188 per employee, compared to $10,522 in 2012.
In most cases, employers still shoulder much of the cost. But workers should expect to see their portion of the total cost rise in the form of increased premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
The amount employees will pay for their health care benefits in 2013 is expected to be close to $5,000 — $2,385 in premiums and another $2,449 in out-of-pocket costs.
“It is easy to fall back on the status quo and assume that your 2012 benefits choices will continue to meet your needs in 2013,” said Craig Rosenberg, Aon Hewitt’s national leader for health & welfare benefits administration. “But changes to family health care needs, employer plan offerings and costs make it important for workers to reevaluate their selections every year.”
Aon Hewitt offers the following tips for employees this open enrollment season:
Beginning in 2013 under the PPACA, employees’ contributions to Health Care FSAs will be capped at $2,500 annually.
Previously, there was no regulatory limit but many employers capped contributions at $5,000 or more.
However, most workers do not contribute at that level. Among Aon Hewitt clients, employees contribute an average of $1,600 annually to their FSAs.
In addition, carefully review information from your employer about your 2013 health care benefit plan offerings.
According to Aon Hewitt, more employers are offering consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) than health maintenance organization (HMO) options. As a result, health care plan options offered in the past may no longer be available.
Also new this year under the PPACA, employees will have access to Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) statements. The SBCs provide a standardized overview of health plan coverage features, such as coinsurance, deductibles and examples of out-of-pocket costs related to having a child and managing Type 2 diabetes.
For workers at most large employers that provide decision support tools, SBCs will serve primarily as a supplement. For those employees at smaller companies, SBCs may provide new information that will be helpful in selecting coverage for 2013.
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