Employer Health Insurance Premiums Hit $25,000 in 2024

Is inflation really easing? Well, for healthcare, not so much. This marks the second year in a row that employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have risen 7 percent, to reach an average of $25,572 annually, according to KFF’s annual survey, 2024 KFF Employer Health Benefit Survey.

The survey of 2,142 employers examines trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, wellness programs, and employer practices. On average, employees contributed $6,296 toward the cost of family coverage, while the employer contribution was $19,276. The typical premium for individual coverage was $8,951 in 2024.

“Employers are shelling out the equivalent of buying an economy car for every worker every year to pay for family coverage,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. “In the tight labor market in recent years, they have not been able to continue offloading costs onto workers, who are already struggling with healthcare bills.”

This year, KFF asked employers detailed questions about their provider networks, abortion coverage, and family-building benefits, as well as coverage for GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.

Fewer than one in five employers with at least 200 employees (18%) said they cover GLP-1 drugs, while half (52%) said they don’t cover them. Among firms that do not currently cover the drugs for weight loss, few (3%) say they are “very likely” to do so in the next year.

Other key findings:

• IVF coverage. Among employers with at least 200 workers, about a quarter (27%) said they cover in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and a similar share (26%) said they cover artificial insemination.
• Rebates from pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Among the largest firms with at least 5,000 workers, 34 percent said they receive “most” of the rebates negotiated by their PBM or health plan; 34 percent said they receive “some”; and 8 percent said they receive “very little.”
• Abortion coverage. Among large employers with at least 200 workers, 8 percent said that their plan does not cover legally provided abortions, and another 18 percent said that they cover abortions under limited circumstances, such as rape, incest, or the life or health of the pregnant enrollee.
• Mental health and substance abuse. About half (48%) of firms with at least 200 workers said they have increased the mental-health counseling resources available to their workers through an employee assistance program (EAP) or third-party vendors, such as Headspace.
• Spousal coverage. Among firms with at least 200 workers that offer health benefits to spouses, a quarter (24%) either require higher premiums or restrict coverage when spouses are offered health insurance from another source.

From: BenefitsPRO