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 full report – The Multiemployer Health Plan Landscape: A 10-Year Look (2009-2018) – 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 10-year period from 2009 to 2018. 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.
Selected highlights from the report are as follows:
Median benefit costs over the past decade have increased an average of 4.4% per year, down slightly from 4.8% in last year's report.
In the most recent plan year, benefit costs per participant per year for most plans ranged between $8,000 and $16,000.
Median employer contributions over the past decade have increased an average of 4.0% per year, up slightly from 3.8% in last year's report.
In the most recent plan year, more than half of all multiemployer health plans made employer contributions per participant per year of between $8,000 and $16,000.
Despite rising costs, total income of multiemployer health plans has outpaced total expenses for each of the past ten years.
This is the 5th edition of the report.
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Please contact your Horizon Actuarial consultant if you have any questions.