Why Employers Are Turning to High Deductible Medical Plans

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans filled more than 3.7 billion prescriptions in 2010. Because the rate at which individuals developing chronic health conditions continues to increase, the expected decline in drug costs comes as little comfort to hospitality employers who are largely footing the bill, as an overwhelming majority still offer prescription coverage to employees as a part of their medical plan. These increasing costs translate to higher premiums for employers and employees, as well as increasing co-pays.

“In the hospitality industry, prescription drug co-pays have been trending upwards on most plan types over the last few years,” said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys. “On PPO plans for example, formulary co-pays have increased 14.8 percent since 2009, while non-formulary co-pays have gone up by 15.2 percent.” Continue Reading