Employers believe they can slow the rate of increase of their soaring health-care costs to just under 10% in 2005,
but only after shifting even more of the expense to employees, a new nationwide survey said.
That forecast comes from preliminary results of an annual survey of nearly 3,000 employers by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The 916 employers that have so far responded to the survey said they believe the total cost of health-care benefits per employee will rise an average 9.6% next year.
The survey, one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, is expected to be completed in December. In the survey's final results last year, employers said they expected health-care costs to increase 13% going into 2004.
DKOS
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/27/82816/1874And mainstream media is back in 1971. Great.