Employers anticipate healthcare costs will jump by 5.5 percent in 2018, an increase from 4.6 percent in 2017, according to Willis Towers Watson's 22nd annual Best Practices in Health Care Employer Survey.
Here are five insights:
1. The survey revealed 92 percent of employers are "very confident" they will continue sponsoring health benefits in five years, despite the uncertainty of healthcare.
2. Employers are focusing on cost management strategies over the next three years to deal with increased cost pressures.
3. Employers are trying out various cost management strategies, such as pushing for employees to use telemedicine and centers of excellence. Currently, 78 percent of employers reported using telemedicine consultations, with 16 percent noting they plant to start in 2019.
4. The survey also found more employers are looking for avenues to boost employee engagement through benefit plan choices and better decision support. The report found 66 percent of employers are offering choice in benefit type via voluntary benefits.
5. Sixty-two percent of employers are evaluating pharmacy benefit contract terms, and 32 percent plan to do so by 2019.
Read more from the survey, here.