Lincolnshire, Ill. — Oct. 3

In 2012, U.S. companies and their employees saw the lowest health care premium rate increases in six years, according to an analysis by Aon Hewitt, the global HR services business of Aon plc.

The average health care premium rate increase for large employers in 2012 was 4.9 percent, down from 8.5 percent in 2011 and 6.2 percent in 2010. In 2013, however, average health care premium increases are projected to jump up to 6.3 percent.

Aon Hewitt's analysis showed the average health care cost per employee was $10,522 in 2012, up from $10,034 in 2011. The portion of the total health care premium that employees were asked to contribute toward this premium cost was $2,204 in 2012, compared to $2,090 in 2011.

Meanwhile, average employee out-of-pocket costs, such as copayments, coinsurance and deductibles, were $2,200 in 2012, compared to $2,072 in 2011.

For 2013, average health care costs per employee are projected to jump to $11,188. Consistent with the previous two years, employees will be asked to contribute 21 percent of the total health care premium, which equates to $2,385 for 2013.

Average employee out-of-pocket costs are expected to increase to $2,429. These projections mean that over the last five years, employees' share of health care costs — including employee contributions and out-of-pocket costs — will have increased more than 50 percent from $3,199 in 2008 to $4,814 in 2013.

Costs by Plan Type
On average, Aon Hewitt forecasts that companies will see 2013 cost increases of 7 percent for health maintenance organization plans (HMOs), 6.1 percent for preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and 6.1 percent for point-of-service (POS).

That means from 2012 to 2013, the average cost per person for major companies is estimated to increase from $10,659 to $11,405 for HMOs, $10,433 to $11,069 for PPOs and $11,062 to $11,737 for POS plans.

Cost Increases by Metropolitan Area
In 2012, major U.S. markets that experienced rate increases higher than the national average included San Antonio (7.4 percent), San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (7.4 percent), Los Angeles (7.2 percent) and Austin (6.5 percent).