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Copyright © 2017 United Benefit Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved. UBA HealthPlan Survey SMALL BUSINESS HEALTHCARE: HOW EMPLOYEES ARE FARING ® Advisors United Benefit
Copyright © 2017 United Benefit Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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AHealthPlanSurvey
SMALL BUSINESS HEALTHCARE: HOW EMPLOYEES ARE FARING
®
AdvisorsUnited Benefit
Conventional wisdom says small businesses in the U.S. don’t offer
competitive healthcare benefits compared to larger employers.
While employers with 500 to 1,000 or more employees may indeed
offer better coverage (lower copays, deductibles, in-network out-of-
pocket maximums, and monthly premiums), the United Benefit
Advisors (UBA) Health Plan Survey finds that when compared to all
employers nationwide, small businesses are indeed keeping up with
average benefits—at much lower costs. The downside for employees
working at these small businesses is that they must shoulder a much
greater portion of the monthly premiums, especially for families.
SMALL BUSINESS HEALTHCARE
Like other average employers, small businesses are primarily offering preferred
provider organization (PPO) plans, though in some cases they are migrating
more rapidly to HMO and consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs).
TYPE OF PLANS OFFERED BY SMALL BUSINESS
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AHealthPlanSurvey
EMPLOYERS PRIMARILY OFFERING PPO PLANS
EMPLOYERS PRIMARILY OFFERING HMO PLANS
EMPLOYERS PRIMARILY OFFERING CDHP PLANS
When looking at average annual cost per employee, small businesses actually
cut a better deal even compared to their largest counterparts—their costs
are generally below average—and not just because they are more apt to
offer lower cost HMO and CDHP plans. (Keep in mind that relief such as
grandmothering and the PACE Act helped many of these small groups stay
in pre-ACA plans at better rates, unlike their larger counterparts.)
SMALL BUSINESSES OFFER LOWER COST PLANS
PPO PLAN AVERAGE ANNUAL COST PER EMPLOYEE
HMO PLAN AVERAGE ANNUAL COST PER EMPLOYEE
CDHP PLAN AVERAGE ANNUAL COST PER EMPLOYEE
AVERAGE ANNUAL COST PER EMPLOYEE (ALL PLANS)
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $10,043
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $8,599
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $9,730
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $9,719
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $9,431
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $8,274
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $8,927
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $9,165
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $9,985
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $9,089
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $8,997
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $9,538
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $10,777
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $10,443
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $10,710
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $10,460
ALL EMPLOYERS | $10,134
ALL EMPLOYERS | $8,886
ALL EMPLOYERS | $9,391
ALL EMPLOYERS | $9,727
Generally, small businesses are not cutting corners with their coverage.
Copays, deductibles, and HSA funding (when offered) are generally in
line with average employers.
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE COMPETITIVE
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1-24
1-24
$50
$25
1-24
1-24
$200
$45
25-49
25-49
$50
$25
25-49
25-49
$200 $200 $200
$45
50-99
50-99
$50
$25
50-99
50-99
$40
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
$40
$25
$50
$25
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
$150
$35$40
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
MEDIAN URGENT CARE CENTER COPAY
MEDIAN PCP COPAY
MEDIAN ER COPAY
MEDIAN SCP COPAY
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE COMPETITIVE
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
25-49
25-49
25-49
25-49
50-99
50-99
50-99
50-99
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
AVERAGE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION TO SINGLE HSA
MEDIAN SINGLE IN-NETWORK DEDUCTIBLE
AVERAGE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION TO FAMILY HSA
MEDIAN FAMILY IN-NETWORK DEDUCTIBLE
$490
$775
$2,000
$4,000
$543
$908
$2,000
$4,000
$422
$702
$2,000
$4,000
$433
$700
$1,500
$3,000
$474
$801
$2,000
$4,500
While in general small employers are very competitive with average employers
nationwide, their healthcare benefits differ in two important ways.
1. Small businesses are passing nearly 6.6 percent more of the costs for single coverage and
nearly 10 percent more of the costs of family coverage on to employees—and that number
increases to 17.8 percent and over 50 percent more respectively when you compare small
employers to their largest counterparts.
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE COMPETITIVE
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AVERAGE SINGLE MONTHLY PREMIUM
AVERAGE FAMILY MONTHLY PREMIUM
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $149
1-24 EMPLOYEES | $591
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $130
25-49 EMPLOYEES | $525
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $124
50-99 EMPLOYEES | $472
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $114
500-1,000+ EMPLOYEES | $352
ALL EMPLOYERS | $126
ALL EMPLOYERS | $482
1-24 1-24
$4,500
$10,000
25-49 25-49
$4,800
$10,000
50-99 50-99
$4,500
$10,000
500-1,000+
500-1,000+
$3,500
$7,300
$4,440
$9,000
ALL EMPLOYERS
ALL EMPLOYERS
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
AVERAGE SINGLE IN-NETWORK OOP MAXIMUM
AVERAGE FAMILY IN-NETWORK OOP MAXIMUM
2. Small businesses also have higher out-of-pocket maximums, particularly for families.
