The percentage of employers offering health insurance is growing, despite large increases in premiums, and employers are bearing the brunt of premium increases in the current tight labor market, according to a report issued Sept. 7 by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust. The premium hike almost doubled the previous year's rate of premium increases, which averaged 4.8 percent nationally. Employers thus far are not passing along the increased premium costs to their employees.
Employers Pay Premiums.
Employers are shouldering the impact of the premium hikes as a tool to attract employees in the currenttight labor market, Larry Levittof the Kaiser Family Foundation said. Among companies with between three and 199 workers, the percentage of employers offering health insurance increased from 54 percent in 1998 to 67 percent in 2000, the report said. That means that 65 percent of employees in companies that offer coverage end up being covered by their employers, the report said. In the area of health plan enrollment, preferred provider organizations continued to grow in popularity, according to the report. PPOs now enroll 41 percent of workers, up from 26 percent in 1996.