Other findings
Technology makes gains. The use of Internet/intranet
technologies in employee benefit administration is starting to take
hold, led by large employers. Over one-third (35 percent) of employers
with 500 or more employees, and two-thirds of those with 20,000
or more employees, currently use Internet/intranet applications
in providing benefits. The most common uses are to provide forms
and access health and welfare benefit information. A fifth of all
large employers are conducting open enrollment for 2001 via Internet/intranet,
although most of them will also give employees the option of paper
or telephone enrollment as well.
Litigation concerns mount. The percentage
of large employers who say they are concerned about litigation by
health plan participants rose from 68 percent in 1999 to 79 percent
in 2000. Virtually all of the largest employers (97 percent of those
with 20,000 or more employees) say they are concerned -- and with
good reason. During the past two years, 8 percent of these very
large employers have been named in a legal action related to medical
care provided through one of the health plans with which they contract.
While household-name employers are the most likely targets of lawsuit,
a handful of mid-sized employers (2 percent of those with 1,000–4,999
employees) have been named legal actions since 1999.
Alternative medicine coverage spreading.
Coverage of chiropractic care has become the rule rather than the
exception. It is covered in 70 percent of employers' largest medical
plans, up from 62 percent last year. Acupressure/acupuncture is
covered in 17percent of plans, up from 12 percent, and massage therapy
is covered in 12 percent, up from 7 percent.
Domestic partner coverage. The percentage
of large employers (500 or more employees) who consider same-sex
domestic partners as eligible for dependent coverage was essentially
unchanged in 2000, at 12 percent (in 1999, it was 11 percent).
Dental benefits. Comprehensive dental benefits
are offered by 51 percent of all employers. Among these employers
the use of dental care PPOs rose sharply for a second year in a
row, from 32 percent to 42 percent. The cost of dental coverage
averaged $470 per employee, an increase of only about 1 percent.
There was no change in either the median deductible ($50) or the
maximum annual benefit ($1,000).
Health benefit cost varies widely by region.
Comparing the four census regions, the overall average cost per
active employee reached $4,959 in the Northeast, $4,474 in the Midwest,
$4,287 in the West, and $4,129 in the South.
Editor's Note: Copies of the National Survey
of Employer-sponsored Health Plans 2000 will be available in mid-February
for $500 each. To order, contact Tara Lewis at William M. Mercer,
Incorporated, 1166 Avenue of the Americas, 28th Floor, New York,
NY 10036, or by phone 212 .345. 2451.
William M. Mercer, Inc., one of the nation's
leading consulting organizations, assists employers in the areas
of human resource strategy and implementation. Headquartered in
New York and with offices in more than 40 U.S. cities, the firm
is the U.S. operating company of William M. Mercer Companies LLC,
a worldwide consulting organization with 13,000 employees serving
clients in 127 cities in 37 countries and territories.
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