Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Employer Insurance Costs Spiking, Workers Will Feel The Pinch
Paychecks are set for a big squeeze next year. Merit raises in 2025 are projected to remain largely flat, with an average bump of 3.3%, according to a new survey of more than 1,100 companies by benefits advisory firm Mercer. Meanwhile, the cost of employer-provided health insurance, which rose 7% in 2024 for a second straight year, is likely to rise again. Companies’ total health-benefit cost for an employee is expected to increase an average of 5.8% in 2025, according to a separate Mercer survey. (Smith, 10/14)
About 165 million Americans get their health insurance through work, and yet most don’t spend much time considering what their employer is offering in the way of benefits and what it will cost. In fact, employees only spent about 45 minutes a year, on average, deciding which benefit options suit them best, a report from Aon found. Open enrollment season, which typically runs through early December, is an opportunity to take a closer look at what’s at stake. And, for starters, costs are going way up. (Dickler, 10/14)
A health care spending surge looms in the new year, and Business Group on Health is helping employers understand it. The nonprofit found in a recent survey that large employers expect the cost to treat patients will jump nearly 8% next year before they make coverage changes to address it. That’s the highest growth rate in a decade. (Murphy, 10/14)
One of the biggest shake-ups in recent years is the growth of high deductible plans, which offer lower monthly premiums but require consumers to pay most initial medical costs out of pocket before the plan’s coverage kicks in. While their cheaper premiums may look like a bargain, consumers risk paying much more if they have unexpected illnesses or failed to budget well for more routine care. Here’s what you need to know when it’s time to choose a health insurance plan. (Dooley Young, 10/14)
President Joe Biden’s career-defining victories over Big Pharma — reforming Medicare to lower prices and capping inhaler costs for millions of Americans with lung disease — are facing an unlikely threat: drug companies going green. Drug companies are taking advantage of a global climate treaty to boost profits. The treaty, signed by some 120 countries nearly a decade ago, is now providing inhaler makers with a golden escape hatch from Biden’s reforms that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars annually. (Wittenberg, 10/14)
