Average healthcare costs for U.S. employers increased 7.3 percent in 2009, with small employers hit the hardest, according to Thomson Reuters.
The year-over-year healthcare cost increase topped the 2008 rate of 6.1 percent and occurred in a year when the U.S. inflation rate was negative, said Chris Justice, director of practice leadership for the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters and author of a new study detailing the cost increases.
"In a year when inflation was non-existent, employer healthcare costs continued to surge," said Justice. "This analysis puts the real-world healthcare challenges facing employers into perspective. These cost increases have come at a particularly difficult time for U.S. companies."
The study analyzed insurance claims data for 144 small, medium and large companies that provided health benefits to 9.5 million individuals from 2007-2009.
While overall U.S. healthcare spending (which includes Medicare, Medicaid and other payers) grew at 4.8 percent in 2009, the study revealed that average healthcare costs for employers in the study rose 7.3 percent.
Costs increased at an even greater rate among small employers. In firms with less than 5,000 employees, healthcare costs increased 9.8 percent in 2009, nearly double the 5 percent rate seen in 2008, Justice said.
Medium-sized employers (5,000 to 50,000 employees) saw healthcare cost increases accelerate from 6.5 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2009, while costs for large companies (more than 50,000 employees) rose 5 percent in 2009 – a decrease from the 5.8 percent recorded in 2008.