As local businesses and their employees are making decisions about their health care coverage for next year, it appears that more of them will be considering high deductible plans.
The annual survey by the Rochester Business Alliance shows that 86 percent of the local employers surveyed plan to offer one or more high deductible health insurance plans next year, which is a 10 percent increase from last year.
RBA CEO Bob Duffy says those plans give the companies a way to offer competitive benefits while maintaining control over rising health care costs.
The RBA survey also found that employers expect their premiums next year to rise by about 13 percent. And just around 13 percent of the employers say they will absorb the majority of the increase, others will either split the difference with their workers or pass on much of the cost to them.
The survey also shows that the health benefit costs are taking a bigger chunk out of the bottom line for businesses. The contributions from the employers are averaging 9.4 percent of payroll costs, up a half point from last year.
