October 2015 Issue2015 Trends in Employer-Provided Health Benefits

Offers of coverage, employee cost-sharing, and employer responses to Health Care Reform are among the topics analyzed in the annual 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.
Key findings from the survey include:

• 97% of firms with 100 or more employees offered health benefits to at least some employees in 2015, compared to 89% of firms with 50 to 99 employees.
  • Of those firms with 100 or more full-time equivalent employees, 96% reported offering a plan that meets the "pay or play" affordability and minimum value requirements.
• Among smaller companies, the percentages of those offering health insurance coverage are:
  • 82% of firms with 25 to 49 employees;
  • 63% of firms with 10 to 24 employees; and
  • 47% of firms with 3 to 9 employees.
• The percentage of covered employees enrolled in high deductible plans with a savings option--e.g., health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)--increased to 24% in 2015, up from 13% in 2010.

A wide range of industries is represented in the survey, including service, health care, manufacturing, retail, and finance. Survey data was collected between January and June of 2015. More details and survey results are available from the Kaiser Family Foundation.