EXCLUSIVE: 39% do not know the cost of providing healthcare benefits

cost

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly two-fifths (39%) of respondents do not know the approximate cost of providing healthcare benefits, an increase of 9% since 2017, according to research by Employee Benefits and Health Shield.

The Employee Benefits/Health Shield healthcare research 2018, which surveyed 162 respondents and was published in August, also found that, of those who are aware of their healthcare costs, 31% spend between 1% and 3% of payroll and 17% spend less than 1%. These figures are broadly the same as last year’s, give or take a few percentage points.

Overall, there has been little movement in healthcare spend in recent years; in 2013, 20% invested less than 1% of payroll, and 30% spent between 1% and 3%.

The number of respondents who calculate their return on investment (ROI) has risen slightly, from 12% in 2017 to 14% this year. Although this figure is still surprisingly low when considering the sometimes considerable spend in this area, it is reassuring that the percentage planning to do so has jumped from 19% last year to 28% in 2018. Meanwhile, 58% say they have no plans to measure ROI, compared with 69% last year.