Missouri employers, workers share rising coverage costs

According to the survey, 75 percent of Missouri companies pay $150 to $349 each month for each individual employee’s health insurance premiums on an employee-only plan. For family plans, 72.3 percent of the state’s employers pay more than $450 a month.

When examining costs on percentage plans, 51.5 percent of Missouri employers pay 70 percent to 89 percent of the premium on employee only plans, and 46.9 percent pay the same percentage of the premium per family. In addition, 44.7 percent of employers reported their annual deductibles were between $250 and $499 for individuals, while 48.9 percent said annual deductibles for families were more than $900.

Employee costs can also add up quickly for Missouri individuals and families.

The survey shows that 51.4 percent of employees pay $25 to $74 of their monthly premiums, which can equal as much as $888 annually.

Also, 52.9 percent of families pay more than $250 of their monthly premiums, or more than $3,000 per year. In most plans, deductibles and/or co-insurance add to out-of-pocket costs for employees, as 85.4 percent of all plan types include them.

“Individuals often believe they are carrying the majority of health care cost increases on their own,” said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys, in a news release. “However, in actuality, both parties are sharing the burden of increasing costs at various degrees.”

Compensation Data’s Missouri survey also found that 19.6 percent of organizations in the state have no waiting period for health coverage, while 45.2 percent require between one and 31 days of service before coverage begins.

Preferred provider organization, or PPO, plans are the most common type of health insurance, offered by 79.5 percent of the survey respondents.

Health maintenance organization, or HMO, plans, are offered by 29.5 percent, and indemnity plans are offered by 17 percent. The Missouri survey comprises data on 521 job titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. Information was collected on more than 379,000 Missouri employees about pay, benefits and pay practices with an effective date of March 1.