title: Health Benefits In 2015: Stable Trends In The Employer Market.
abstract: The annual Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust Employer Health Benefits Survey found that in 2015, average annual premiums (employer and worker contributions combined) were $6,251 for single coverage and $17,545 for family coverage. Both premiums rose 4 percent from 2014, continuing several years of modest growth. The percentage of firms offering health benefits and the percentage of workers covered by their employers' plans remained statistically unchanged from 2014. Eighty-one percent of covered workers were enrolled in a plan with a general annual deductible. Among those workers, the average deductible for single coverage was $1,318. Half of large employers either offered employees the opportunity or required them to complete biometric screening. Of firms that offer an incentive for completing the screening, 20 percent provide employees with incentives or penalties that are tied to meeting those biometric outcomes. The 2015 survey included new questions on financial incentives to complete wellness programs and meet specified biometric outcomes as well as questions about narrow networks and employers' strategies related to the high-cost plan tax and the employer shared-responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
authors.affiliation: Gary Claxton is a vice president, director of the Health Care Marketplace Project, and codirector of the Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance, all at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Claxton
authors.affiliation: Matthew Rae (matthewr@kff.org) is a senior policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rae
authors.affiliation: Nirmita Panchal is a former policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
authors.forename: Nirmita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Panchal
authors.affiliation: Heidi Whitmore is a senior research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago, in Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whitmore
authors.affiliation: Anthony Damico is an independent consultant for the Kaiser Family Foundation.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damico
authors.affiliation: Kevin Kenward is the former director of research at the Health Research and Educational Trust, in Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kenward
authors.affiliation: Michelle Long is a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D003669:Deductibles and Coinsurance / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States
keywords: Access To Care; Cost of Health Care; Employer-Based System < Insurance; Health Reform; Insurance Coverage < Insurance