As many employers have already, unfortunately, discovered, health care costs continue to skyrocket. Experts analyzing a new survey project that costs for the most popular types of health care coverage will increase at double-digit rates for 2010.

In its 21^st National Health Care Trend survey, Buck Consultants measured the projected average annual increase in employer-provided health care benefit costs. The study recorded responses from over 100 health insurers and HMOs. Insurers providing medical trends for the survey cover a total of approximately 78 million people.

Costs for the most popular medical plans are expected to increase by more than 10% and are in line with the trends reported in the prior two Buck Consultants surveys, as shown in the following chart:

Notably, health insurers reported an average prescription drug trend of 10.9%, up .1% from the prior survey.

For plans that supplement Medicare, health insurers delineated a projected increase of 5.8% excluding prescription drug coverage, down from 7.4% in the preceding survey. This lower trend reflects the effect of federal controls on Medicare fees and the lower increases expected in Medicare deductibles and copays.

Trend factors for dental and vision plans were also included in the report, which is available on the Buck Consultants Web site for a fee.

“Health insurers are concerned about higher costs due to federal mental health parity, as well as an increase in COBRA enrollment,” says Harvey Sobel, FSA, a Buck principal and consulting actuary who directed the survey.  “There is also uncertainty due to health care reform and its impact on all sectors of the health care industry.”

What exactly these variables will mean for employers is uncertain, though many large self-funded plan sponsors use the numerical benchmarks examined in the survey to budget their future health care costs.

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