The good news, says Julio A. Portalatin, president and CEO of Mercer, is that employers have already taken decisive action to slow cost growth so they will be in a better position to handle the challenges ahead. But the impact of the Affordable Care Act on enrollment levels remains a huge question mark.
Health cost slowed again in 2013, according to a Mercer survey, the results of which were announced last week, but HR sources at more than 2,500 different organizations expect that trend to halt or reverse next year, and one of the top ways employers are trying to control costs is by switching populations to consumer-driven health plans.
