Building on data ranging back to 1987, HRET and the
Kaiser Family Foundation have been studying the percentage of workers with job-based coverage, what kinds of plans employers are offering, what kinds of plans employees are
choosing, and how much coverage costs everyone involved. This is the premier source of current information on employer health benefits. Most Americans secure their health coverage through employment-based benefits plans. That makes monitoring trends in employer health benefits one of HRET's most important functions.
With an eight-month turnaround from data collection to publication, the Employer Health Benefits Annual Survey is the earliest source of reliable data available on this topic each year. Similar government statistics—though based on larger samples—tend to lag three years behind.
“A lot of government agencies,” says lead researcher Jon Gabel, “the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, legislative committees, they can’t wait that long. We provide them with real-time data.”
The survey's timeliness and accuracy also appeal to the media, which widely cites the Employer Health Benefits Annual Survey data in its coverage of health care issues.
The survey also provides employers with valuable benchmarking data.
“HR departments use this information to design their benefits packages,” Gabel says. A company’s benefits package is based on a sophisticated calculus of many fluid factors—the overall economy, the economic health of a particular industry and a particular company, the labor market, and so on.
“Companies need to know what their competitors are doing,” Gabel says. “Are they offering better health benefits? And are they going to be able to lure valuable employees? We track the choices that employers and employees make, as well as the relationships between those choices and the cost of coverage.”
Publication of the Employer Health Benefits Annual Survey is just the beginning. Gabel and his prolific research team also publish numerous articles based on the survey statistics. In this role Gabel and his editorial team contribute a dose of objectivity to what can be an emotional debate. The way Gabel puts it, “Our goal is to replace prejudice and anecdote with scientific research.”
This annual survey of approximately 2,000 randomly selected employers—large and small, public and private, in all major industries—serves as a key resource for policymakers, employers, and health researchers seeking new information about the insurance market.
Funding: Kaiser Family Foundation
Years of Data: 1987-Present |
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