Employee enrollment in company health plans increases

Wednesday, 03 August 2011 16:00

News - Employee Health Benefits

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Research by consulting firm Mercer indicates that employee enrollment in company healthcare plans has increased by an average of 2 percent in the year since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, extending coverage for dependents to include employees' children up to the age of 26. Almost a quarter of companies surveyed indicated that enrollment had risen by 3 percent or more.

“Employers have already been facing average increases in per-employee health benefit cost of about 6 percent annually for the past six years,” said Tracy Watts, a Mercer consultant. “Adding enrollment growth on top of that puts a real strain on their budgets.”


Another provision of the law requires employers to enroll full-time employees when hired or when they meet eligibility requirements, which is projected to cause another 2 percent rise in enrollment.

This change and several others will take effect in 2014, and many employers are anticipating the possibility of a cost increase, although 15 percent indicated they were already in compliance with the new provisions an their costs would be unaffected. Less than 10 percent said they were likely to drop coverage due to the changes.

Many companies have recently begun investing in employee wellness programs and initiatives meant to increase overall staff health, since promoting well-being may decrease insurance and overall costs by emphasizing wellness and preventive measures.