Health care inflation nears double digits. (Short Takes).For the second year in a row, health care costs will grow sharply with companies and consumers bearing the brunt of the rate hikes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. management consulting Noun 1. management consulting - a service industry that provides advice to those in charge of running a business service industry - an industry that provides services rather than tangible objects firm Hewitt Associates Some of the information in this article may not be verified by . It should be checked for inaccuracies and modified to cite reliable sources. Hewitt Associates . A nationwide survey of 600 companies by Hewitt found that companies are seeing increases of 8 to 10 percent for this year. This is on the heels of last year's rate hike of 7.8 percent, which was the highest increase since the early 1990s. Companies plan to cover the majority of the rate hikes, but many will pass along at least 25 percent of the increase to employees, according to the survey. With the average health plan projected to cost $4,853 per employee this year. up from $4.41 2 in 1 ggg, that means most employees will pay $110 more for their health coverage. The expected premium hikes varied by type of plan. Among the companies surveyed, traditional indemnity coverage was expected to rise by 10 percent, PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there and HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, coverage by g percent. and point-of-service plans by 8 percent. HMO coverage will continue to be significantly less expensive. on average costing $4,341 compared to $6,285 for indemnity plans. Cities along the East Coast have been particularly hard hit, with rate hikes of 11.6 percent in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , 11.1 percent in Washington, D.C. and 10.6 percent in south Florida. James A. Hawkins is Publisher of Healthcare Briefings, a newsletter available in print, on cassette, via fax. and on computer disk. He can be reached at 800/338-5486. |
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