The average cost of U.S. employers to pay for employee health care will rise by 6.5% by 2023, global professional services firm Aon found Thursday. The cost per employee will be $13,800, up from $13,020 in 2022.
This Report Use information from the Aon Health Values Initiative database, which includes healthcare cost and benefit designs for nearly 700 US employers. These organizations employ 5.6 million people and account for $76 billion in healthcare spending in 2022.
Average costs for U.S. employers are expected to increase by 6.5%, more than double the 3% increase employers experience in 2022, the report said.However, the increase was lower than the 9.1% increase in the consumer price index, which was released on Thursday. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
At the start of the pandemic, medical claims were lower as many patients delayed care, creating smaller budgets in 2022, the report said. But now employers’ claims are slowly returning to normal levels, and inflation is rising.
Debbie Ashford, chief actuary for health solutions at Aon North America, said: “In stark contrast to past decades, we measure that the health care budget of U.S. employers will be larger than the CPI for this calendar year. nearly three times lower.” in the press release. “Despite this historic event, employer healthcare costs are expected to increase by 6.5% in 2023 due to economic inflationary pressures.”
Ashford added that because the contracts between providers and payers are multi-year, the impact of inflation on health care is usually slow, but it is likely to become more common in the coming year.
In response to increased costs, Aon advises employers to address the cost burden associated with patients with chronic and complex medical conditions. It’s “not uncommon” for 1 percent of members to drive 40 percent of an employer’s health care spending in any given year, Ashford said. Gathering data and analysis on these conditions may help program sponsors reduce costs.
Farheen Dam, head of Aon North America Health Solutions, said: “The impact of chronic diseases has far-reaching implications that go beyond what we see in healthcare costs and impact other areas of the business such as absenteeism and productivity, disability and workers’ compensation. “By focusing on chronic conditions, we can not only improve the health and well-being of our employees, but also help improve the way they live and work.”
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