Health insurance premiums have risen for workers

Not every insurance carrier is raising its rates, but many are responding to the rising cost of healthcare by hiking premiums about 15 percent, and some are going higher, said Chuck Rosen, a real estate broker from Simi Valley who helps businesses find plans.

Rosen said a growing number of employers are trying to minimize the pain to workers by offering incentives for enrolling in less-expensive policies that come with savings accounts used to chip away at deductibles ranging from $1,200 to more than $5,000 for an individual.

Some are reducing benefits in HMO and PPO plans by increasing deductibles or raising the maximum amount of money workers pay out of pocket.

“They’re looking anywhere they can to try to stay afloat,” Rosen said.

Dave Glyer, chief financial officer at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, said the company’s insurance costs have risen nearly 5 percent in the past year.

“We’re planning to pass almost all of that to the employees. That’s a lot different than we’ve done in other years,” he said, noting the hospital is planning to borrow $250 million next year to help finance a state-mandated construction project.

Premiums in the health plans offered to Ventura County employees will rise from a low of about 4 percent in a county-administered plan to 15 percent in two private HMO plans and nearly 25 percent in a PPO. In the plan with the largest increase, premiums for individuals will increase to more than $1,100 a month. In turn, workers can go to any doctor they choose.

“The price of that flexibility is becoming very expensive,” noted Harold Pierce, a deputy executive in the county’s human resources office. He noted only about 180 workers remain in the PPO. The county also gives employees about $540 a month in a credit that can be applied to insurance costs.

Rates are increasing but at a slower rate than in past years, said Paul Newman, a Ventura insurance broker who works with about 140 different companies. Premiums have increased about 15 percent to 20 percent annually over the past three years, he said. This year, the average increase ranges from 5 percent to 12 percent.

A few of Newman’s clients have stopped offering insurance altogether and many have reduced eligibility for their plans.

“I’ve probably seen a 15 to 20 percent drop in the number of employees over the last year,” he said.

A national survey of employers by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed premiums rose 5 percent in the past year and that about one in five workers have deductibles of at least $1,000.

The high deductible trend is growing in Ventura County as well and that’s a good thing, Rosen said. Often people who sign up for more expensive plans don’t use the benefits, he said. The savings account plans offer lower premiums and provide 100 percent coverage after the deductible is met.

The rising cost of care is also affecting HMOs where high premiums once meant nearly all treatments were covered, Rosen said. Now more carriers are implementing deductibles and higher co-pays for prescriptions and other medical costs.

The still-pressed economy may make it easier for companies to change their insurance policies because dissatisfied workers will have a hard time finding something better.

Employees at Community Memorial who will face increased costs will likely realize their benefit packages are still attractive, Glyer said.