Healthcare costs employees one month's pay

CHICAGO, April 21 (UPI) -- U.S. employers are transferring more healthcare costs to employees, currently at about one month's salary, a survey said.

With median U.S. households earning approximately $48,000 annually, the amount families spend on employer-sponsored healthcare per year continues to edge closer to one month's salary, the Aon Consulting's 2008 Benefits and Talent Survey said.

The report said that the median annual contribution for family healthcare coverage is $3,120, which is a 15 percent increase from 2007 and 22 percent increase from 2006.

The survey of more than 1,100 U.S.-based organizations found that 64 percent of employers now have a benefits strategy that promotes the importance of health and productivity to their employees.

The amount of employers implementing specific wellness programs has increased three-fold from 2007 to 2008. For example, some 46 percent of employers are implementing smoking cessation programs this year, up from 14 percent of employers in 2007.

Other popular wellness programs in 2008 are: promotion of exercise/physical activity, disease management programs, health risk appraisals, biometric screening and telephonic health care coaching.