Employers Will Pay More for Health Insurance Next Year

A study recently released by the well-known accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has found that employers will pay more for health insurance next year. The study found that increased costs for health insurance to employers across the types of insurance will  average over 10%, with costs at HMO's up 11.8%, PPO's 11.9% and High Deductible fee for service plans up 10.7%.

Employers will likely respond by trying to cut back on benefits or pass a larger percentage of costs of health insurance back on employees. Insurance experts and financial planners agree that now more than ever it may be a good time for consumers, even those with health benefits from their jobs to look into affordable healthcare insurance.

In related affordable healthcare insurance news, large health insurance providers like Aetna are announcing initiatives that are aimed at helping the nearly 47 million Americans without insurance gain access to affordable healthcare insurance. Aetna has become part of the National Health Partners CareExpress Network. The company has unveiled new programs under its Health Advantage One banner that give consumers several new options of obtaining affordable healthcare insurance including a product that makes it easier to pay for healthcare using a Health Savings Account (HSA). Similarly United Healthcare has announced two new programs under its Belay initiative that also have been specifically designed to increase access of working Americans age 35 to 54 to affordable healthcare insurance. These programs are simple and affordable healthcare insurance options intended to offer medical coverage to people in case of a major and unexpected health crisis, providing uninsured workers with an option other than COBRA to their healthcare insurance concerns.

Meanwhile in Washington America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) announced a groundbreaking series of new policies that are aimed at providing affordable healthcare insurance to all Americans. Under the proposed new plans, rules governing the eligibility for public programs would change allowing more consumers access to them. The sweeping policy changes would also allow all consumers to purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars, provide federally funded financial assistance to help working families afford coverage, and provide incentives for individual states to work out and put into practice new legislation and programs that would expand access to affordable healthcare insurance. The new reform plan follows more than half a year of study by the Board of the AHIP, and it is hoped if implemented it could provide access to affordable healthcare insurance coverage to all children within three years and 95 percent of adults within 10 years. "This bold program would expand coverage to tens of millions within a framework that is fiscally sound and promotes individual responsibility."Said J. Grover Thomas Jr., Chairman, Trustmark Mutual Holding Company; and Chairman, AHIP Board of Directors.