Purchasing Value in Health Care,
Selected Findings From the 15th Annual National Business Group on Health/Towers Watson Survey Report — 2010

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The prolonged economic downturn is putting additional pressure on companies to change their health care programs to help relieve financial strain. The results of this year’s survey also show that employers are frustrated by employees’ poor health habits and are struggling to effectively motivate behavior change. Additionally, they are uncertain about the future of employer-sponsored benefits, especially in light of the potential for health care reform legislation. Against this backdrop, employers are doing more to hold the line on costs and achieve better health and productivity outcomes.

Key Findings

• Annual median health care cost increases rose slightly in 2009 to 7%, compared with 6% in 2008. This pace is still more than twice the rate of inflation.

• Fifty-seven percent of respondents are very confident that employers will continue to offer health care benefits 10 years from now. This figure is down from 2009, when 62% of employers expressed a high level of confidence.

• Employers report that lack of employee engagement is the biggest obstacle to changing health behaviors. Still, they are trying new ways to encourage employees to become healthier and buy health care services more efficiently.

• There is considerable room for improvement in vendor programs designed to change member health habits and encourage efficient use of health care services. Employers rate these programs as ineffective.

• Today, 54% of companies have a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) in place — a 6% increase over last year’s findings — and is expected to increase to 61% in 2011.