NU Online News Service, Oct. 7, 2004, 5:02 p.m. EDT
Big employers expect to pay an average of 8% more for health coverage for active employees in 2005 than they are paying this year.[@@]
Researchers from Towers Perrin L.P., New York, a human resources consulting firm, are basing that projection on a group of about 200 responses to the company’s 2005 health care cost survey. Most of the participating employers are multinational companies with thousands of employees.
A year ago, big employers told Towers Perrin that they expected rates to go up about 11% in 2004.