LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Employers are shifting more health costs onto employees, with premiums and deductibles for workers set to rise 9 percent in 2009, an analysis says.
Hewitt Associates of Lincolnshire, Ill., predicts individual workers will see their costs rise nearly 9 percent to $3,826 per year while companies will see their health-insurance costs rise 6.4 percent to an annual tab of $8,863 per employee, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
Yearly worker contributions to premiums will likely go up nearly 8 percent to $1,946, which translates to about $162 per month out of employee paychecks, plus an additional $156 per month in out-of-pocket costs, a 10.1 percent increase, the study said.
The Tribune reported analysts say the higher worker costs are a result of employers shifting more healthcare costs onto them through higher deductibles or co-payments on such things as drugs, doctors' office visits and emergency room trips.
