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Premiums

• Average annual premiums for HDHP/HRAs are $3,666 for single coverage and $10,482 for family coverage (Exhibit 8.3). The HDHP/HRA premium amount for single coverage is lower than the single premium amounts for other health plan types. For family coverage, the HDHP/HRA premium amount is lower than the family premium for PPOs, but the differences between the HDHP/HRA family premium and the family premiums for HMOs and POS plans are not statistically significant.
  
• Average annual premiums for HSA qualified HDHPs are $3,176 for single coverage and $8,515 for family coverage (Exhibit 8.3). These premium amounts are lower than the single and family premiums for other plan types.
  

Worker Contributions to Premiums

• The average annual worker premium contribution for single coverage is $664 in HDHP/HRAs and $467 in HSA qualified HDHPs (Exhibit 8.3). Differences between these amounts and the average worker premium contributions for single coverage in other plan types are not statistically significant.
  
• The average annual worker premium contribution for family coverage is $2,420 in HDHP/HRAs and $2,115 in HSA qualified HDHPs (Exhibit 8.3). Worker contributions for family coverage in HSA qualified HDHPs are lower than worker contributions for other plan types. For HDHP/HRAs, the average worker contribution is lower than the average worker contribution for family coverage in HMO and POS plans; the difference between the worker contribution for family coverage in HDHP/HRAs and the average worker contribution for PPO plans is not statistically significant.
  

Employer Contributions to Premiums

• Employers contribute to HDHP/SOs in two ways: through their contributions toward the premium for the health plan and through their contribution (if any in the case of HSAs) to the savings account option (i.e., the HRAs or HSAs themselves).
  
• • Looking just at annual employer contributions to the premiums for HDHP/SOs, covered workers in HDHP/HRAs on average have an employer that contributes $3,003 towards the premium for single coverage and $8,062 towards the premium for family coverage (Exhibit 8.4). The average amount contributed by employers for single coverage in HDHP/HRAs is significantly lower than average amount contributed by employers for single coverage in HMOs, PPOs and POS plans; differences in the amounts that employers contribute for family coverage in HDHP/HRAs and other plan types are not statistically significant.
    
  • In the case of employer contributions toward the premiums for HSA qualified HDHPs, covered workers in HSA qualified HDHPs on average have an employer that contributes $2,709 towards the premium for single coverage and $6,400 towards the premium for family coverage (Exhibit 8.4). These amounts are significantly lower than the amounts contributed by employers for single or family coverage for HMOs, PPOs and POS plans.
    
  • For single coverage, the difference in the average amounts contributed by employers towards HDHP/HRA and HSA qualified HDHP premiums is not statistically significant. For family coverage, the average amount contributed by employers for HSA qualified HDHPs is significantly lower than the average amount contributed for HDHP/HRAs (Exhibit 8.4).
    
  
  
• On average, workers enrolled in an HDHP/HRA receive an annual employer contribution to their HRA of $797 for single coverage and $1,584 for family coverage. Workers enrolled an HSA qualified HDHPs on average receive an employer contribution to their HSA of $689 for single coverage and $1,139 for family coverage. When employer contributions to the savings account options (i.e., the HRAs and HSAs themselves) are added to their health plan premium contributions, the average amounts that employers contribute for covered workers in HDHP/HRAs are $3,800 for single coverage and $9,646 for family coverage, and the average amounts that employers contribute for covered workers in HSA qualified HDHPs are $3,398 for single coverage and $7,539 for family coverage (Exhibit 8.4). There are important caveats, however, for interpreting these averages (Exhibit 8.4).
  
• • In looking at total employer contributions to HDHP/HRAs, we note that HRAs are structured in such a way that employers may not actually spend the whole amount that they make available to their employees’ HRAs.⁴ Funds the employee does not use generally roll over and can be used in future years, but any balance may revert back to the employer if the employee leaves his or her job. Thus, the employer contribution amounts to HRAs that we capture in the survey may exceed the amount that employers will actually spend.
    
  • In looking at total employer contributions to HSA qualified HDHPs, we note that 37% of employers offering HSA qualified HDHPs (covering 30% of workers enrolled in these plans) do not make contributions towards the HSAs that their workers establish. The averages that we show include the large portion of covered workers whose employer contribution to the HSA is zero. When those firms that do not contribute to the HSA are excluded from the calculation, the average employer contribution for covered workers is $988 for single coverage and $1,632 for family coverage. The total employer contribution for HSA qualified HDHP family coverage is significantly lower than the employer contribution for POS family coverage.

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