Employees can expect to shoulder more expenses related to their health coverage in 2011, according to Aon’s 2010 Benefits Survey.

The survey found that 65% of employers plan to increase cost sharing next year for things such as deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums. What’s more, 57% of companies say they will ask employees to contribute more for the overall cost of health care in 2011. 

The amount of cost sharing implemented by employers varies. On plan design, 46% of employers are shifting costs to employees equal to the overall renewal increase, while an additional 46% are shifting costs to workers that are less than the overall renewal increase. 

For overall health plan cost, 40% of employers say the additional worker contributions will be equal to the 2011 renewal increase, and 49% indicate that workers will be asked to pay less than next year’s renewal increase.

"We believe the new health reform law will increase health care costs by 2% to 4% during the next three years,” said Tom Lerche, senior vice president with Aon Consulting. 

"In addition, we expect to see new costs related to excise taxes and potential cost shifting from reductions in Medicare reimbursement to providers, which will be on top of existing long-term medical trend inflation. These factors will lead many employers to consider increased employee contributions for health coverage, as well as plan design cost sharing," he adds.

The Aon survey polled 1,079 employers nationwide.