Missouri Health Care Costs Increase at Slower Rate in 2008

Although most Missouri organizations saw an increase in their health insurance premium, the average premium increase is decreasing, according to the Compensation Data 2008 - Missouri annual survey of 336 employers. The newly released results reported the average premium increase was 7.5 percent for all plan types.
Kansas City, Kan. – Although most Missouri organizations saw an increase in their health insurance premium, the average premium increase is decreasing, according to the Compensation Data 2008 - Missouri annual survey of 336 employers. The newly released results reported the average premium increase was 7.5 percent for all plan types.

While health insurance premiums are rising, they have been increasing at a lower rate for the last five years. In 2007, the average premium increase was 11.4 percent. When comparing plans in 2008, 65.7 percent of organizations offering PPO plans saw an average increase of 6.9 percent. Those offering HMO and POS plans had average premium increases of 9.6 and 8.2 percent, respectively. HDHP plans had increases of 9.7 percent.

“More than 65 percent of the organizations offering HDHP plans had a health insurance premium increase in 2008,” said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys. “Comparatively, over 70 percent of employers had increases with HMO and POS plans.”

To contain rising costs, Missouri organizations utilized a variety of methods. The most highly used was wellness programs at 68.4 percent in 2008, while a network of health care professionals was employed by 64.5 percent. Coordination of benefits was prevalent, as 63.5 percent of organizations used them to contain costs.

The results showed 31.6 percent of Missouri companies increased the employee portion of the premium in their efforts to reduce costs. This is less than the percentage seen in 2006. Currently, 29.6 and 18.1 percent of organizations increased deductible levels and employee co-insurance levels, respectively. On average, employers contribute 9.6 percent of payroll toward the cost of health benefits, which is nearly the same cost to provide all of the following benefits: dental, pension, life, disability and other non-mandated benefits.

About the Survey
Compensation Data 2008 – Missouri contains data on 606 job titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Information was collected on more than 318,000 employees across the state. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefits information and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2008.

Compdata Surveys, www.compdatasurveys.com, has been providing accurate, reliable data at affordable prices since 1988. For further information about the compensation and benefits surveys, contact Lane Odle at (800) 300-9570 or lodle[at]compdatasurveys.com.
The HR industry´s premier online community and resource for Human Resource professionals: HR, human resources, HR community, human resources community, HR best practices, best practices in human resources, online communities for HR, HR articles, HR news, human resources articles, human resources news, HR events, leadership, performance management, staffing and recruitment, benefits, compensation, staffing, recruitment, workforce acquisition, human capital management, HR management, human resources management, HR metrics and measurement, organizational development, executive coaching, HR law, employment law, labor relations, hiring employees, HR outsourcing, human resources outsourcing, training and development
hr.com. human resources management resources for hr professionals. | HR menus | HR events | HR Sitemap