Dive Brief:
- The number of employers that provide full or partial spousal coverage is dropping as companies adjust their benefits packages to cut costs.
- The findings come from Conrad Siegel Actuaries, a firm that performs a yearly health benefits survey. For its current round, 130 companies from a variety of industries participated.
- Spousal coverage was the issue that saw the most change. In 2012, 20% of responding employers either excluded spouses or charged them, while this year, the number has risen to 47%.
Dive Insight:
The decrease in spousal coverage is driven by the trend toward reducing costs, and is happening alongside shifts toward self-funded health plans.
According to the survey:
- 31% of respondents did not cover spouses that could obtain their own employer-based health insurance in 2014. That percentage has increased from 20% in 2012.
- Of the 69% of employers that did cover spouses with health insurance available, 16% charged an annual surcharge.
- The average yearly surcharge is approximately $1,700.
Rob Glus, partner at Conrad Siegel Actuaries, notes that as costs go up, employers prefer to cut back benefits than to utilize payroll deuctions.
"To a degree, this may be in response to concerns over the impending impact of the Cadillac Tax," Glus said in a prepared statement. "To mitigate the increasing costs, many employers are taking on more risk with self funding, cutting back on spousal coverage and encouraging employees to better manage their costs through consumer directed plans."
Want to read more? You may enjoy this story on how the Cadillac tax will change health plans.