The Multiemployer Health Plan Landscape: A 15-Year Look (2008-2022)

benablin
Dec 9
2 min read

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 (2008-2022) – 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 2008 to 2022. 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:

Median benefit costs over the past 15-year period have increased an average of 4.3% per year.
Median contributions over the 15-year period increased an average of 3.7% per year.
For the plan year 2022, 80% of multiemployer health plans offered dental and vision benefits in addition to health benefits; 62% of plans also included life insurance benefits.
The percentage of multiemployer health plans covering retirees in the 2022 plan year was 74%. Most construction industry plans (81%) covered retirees, while just over half of service industry plans (55%) covered retirees.
In the 2022 plan year, 65% of the multiemployer health plans in the study had assets in excess of 12 months of expenses, which is unchanged from the percentage in 2022.
Over the 15-year period, the percentage of plans with assets worth between zero and six months of expenses decreased from over 26% to under 16%, while the percentage of plans with assets worth more than 24 months of expenses increased notably from 16% to 33%.

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