The Multiemployer Health Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2006-2020)

Horizon Actuarial Services has once again partnered with the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans (IFEBP) to conduct a study of U.S. multiemployer health plans. The study covers multiemployer health plans in all industries and the plans in the study have more than five million covered participants.

The report – The Multiemployer Health Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2006-2020) – is available at the IFEBP’s website (link below). The report provides a look at historical trends for U.S. multiemployer health plans for the 15-year period from 2006 to 2020. It will help plan trustees, professional service providers, and policymakers gain a better understanding of these plans and their environment. The report may also serve as a useful comparison tool, enabling trustees and advisors to understand how their plans compare with others with respect to demographics, benefit costs, income, cash flows, and more.

The report can be purchased through the IFEBP.

Selected highlights from the report are as follows:

• For the plan year 2020, 79% of multiemployer health plans offered dental and vision benefits in addition to health benefits; 61% of plans also included life insurance benefits.

• The percentage of multiemployer health plans covering retirees in the 2020 plan year was 73%. Most construction industry plans (80%) covered retirees, while just over half of service industry plans (52%) covered retirees.

• The median employer contribution PPPY was $12,065 for the 2020 plan year, up from $11,762 reported for 2018. That’s almost a 3% increase.

• In the 2020 plan year, 65% of the multiemployer health plans in the study had assets in excess of 12 months of expenses, compared to under 60% in the 2018 plan year.

• Over the 15-year period, the percentage of plans with assets worth between zero and six months of expenses decreased from over 27% to under 16%, while the percentage of plans with assets worth more than 24 months of expenses increased notably from 16% to 33%.

This is the 6th edition of the report.

Please contact your Horizon Actuarial consultant if you have any questions.