According to an article in Business First of Columbus, "Insurers will seek premium increases of 9 percent to nearly 11 percent for 2008 renewals of employer-sponsored health plans, according to benefits advisers Mercer Human Resources Consulting and Segal Co., which conduct national surveys of health costs. After price negotiations and inevitable plan changes, such as higher deductibles, the final increases will average about 6 percent to 6.8 percent next year, the firms said." (Source: "Businesses take initiative to rein in rising premium costs," Sept. 28, 2007.)
Even though this increase is lower than increases earlier in the decade, and is similar to the increase this year, businesses are still worried about the long-term financial impact of heath care costs. The article quotes Curt Cooper, director of employee benefits at American Electric Power (AEP), as saying the Columbus-based utility is facing 7% increases in health care costs this year and next. "If you project that out over many years, at some point our medical costs will be unsustainable," he said.
The article also examines ways businesses are trying to rein in health costs. Ohio State University's health plan is marketing an incentive-based wellness program and eliminating co-pays for medication to manage chronic diseases. AEP began offering a higher-deductible health care plan in 2006--along with two traditional plans--and since then 37% of employees have switched to the high-deductible offering.
