group insurance premiums expected to be up 6% - 7% (2013-2014) by benefits consultant, Aon Hewitt

[Bill USA]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/17/us-usa-health-premiums-yourmoney-idUSBRE99G0W620131017

Reuters) - Benefits consultant Aon Hewitt predicted that healthcare premium costs for large U.S. employers would rise about 6 percent in 2013, but when it tallied up its numbers for the year, the increase was only about 3.3 percent.

A similar shift happened in 2012. The forecast was 7 percent, and the actual rise in premiums turned out to be 4.9 percent.

The projection for 2014 costs is again in the 6-percent-to-7-percent range, Aon Hewitt said on Thursday. Based on actual tallies of healthcare usage, the forecast is on track, while the last two years are anomalies, the company says.

Companies use Aon Hewitt's forecasts to determine how much comes out of employees' paychecks each month for health insurance. When healthcare costs are 3 percent lower than expected, there is money left over - for somebody.
(more)

CalPERS Committee Recommends Health Premium Rates for 2014 - a 3% increase over 2013

[font size="4"]“Requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act accounted for about 2 percent of the 2014 premium rate increases,” said Dr. George Diehr, Vice Chair of the PHBC.[/font]


http://www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/press/pr-2013/june/committee-recommend-2014-rates.xml

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) Pension and Health Benefits Committee (PHBC) today recommended the Board of Administration approve a 2014 health care package that would raise overall premiums next year by an average of 3 percent for the Pension Fund’s nearly 1.3 million health program members, the lowest average increase since 1998. The rate is lower than the 9.6 percent increase in 2013. If the full Board approves the new premium rates, they will take effect January 1, 2014.

[font size="3"]“Requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act accounted for about 2 percent of the 2014 premium rate increases,” said Dr. George Diehr, Vice Chair of the PHBC.[/font] “However, the lower rates most members will see next year are the result of successful rate negotiations with existing and new health plan providers that incorporated the underlying premise of CalPERS health initiatives: providing quality health care to our members at the lowest possible cost.”

The recommended rate package will increase Basic HMO plan coverage by 3.8 percent, PPO plans by 2.5 percent and Association plans by 6 percent. Medicare HMO plans will increase about 5.8 percent, PPO plans will decrease 8.7 percent, and Association plans will increase 2.2 percent.
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[font size="3"]Workers share of heath insurance costs to increase 9.4% 2013-2014. Average annual Increase over 2004-2014: 9.5%[/font]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2013/10/17/in-2014-workers-share-of-health-costs-nearly-5000-at-large-companies/

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Of the total premium, employees are projected to pay 22.4 percent of the total, or $2,499. The worker premium is rising about 10 percent from $2,303 this year.

What’s more, employees are projected to see a jump by more than 10 percent in their out-of-pocket costs – which include co-payments and deductibles – to $2,470 from $2,239 this year.

“These projections mean that over the last decade, employees’ share of health care costs—including employee contributions and out-of-pocket costs—will have increased almost 150 percent from $2,011 in 2004 to $4,969 in 2014,” Aon Hewitt said in a statement accompanying its annual health care cost report.
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Total Premiums plus Out of pocket costs 2004-2014
2004: $2,011
2014: $4,969

Log(4969/2011)/10 = 2.470909995/10 = 0.039285693

10^0.039285693 = 1.094676242 = 9.5%

OUt of Pocket cost increase: 2013 - 2014
2013: $2,239
2014: $2,470 ....10.3%

Premium cost plus Out of pocket costs increase: 2013 - 2014
2013: $4,542
2014: $4,969 ....9.4%

[gopiscrap]

1. yup and any low info voter if their policy goes up by even a nickle will blame it on Obama

[pscot]

2. Medigap coverage for my wife and I is up 13%

over last year. Not sure we can afford it. By the time we pay for medicare and prescription drugs, health insurance is taking a quarter of our retirement income. Obama had nothing to do with my problem, but he didn't do anything for me either.