The 2011 UBA Health Plan Survey was conducted October 4, 2010, to June 3, 2011, through the joint effort of 143 of the nation's premier independent benefit advisory firms that comprise UBA.  Member Firms, in conjunction with existing clients, completed responses, and additional area employers were invited to complete the web-based surveys.  UBA obtained plan data for a total of 16,421 plans from 10,744 employers.

While other surveys primarily target large employers, this survey focuses on reporting results that are applicable to the small to midsize companies who represent the overwhelming majority of the nation’s 5 million-plus employers, with a mix of larger companies in rough proportion to their prevalence nationally. Thus, this survey provides a current snapshot of the nation’s employers rather than covered employees. Its primary purpose is to provide accurate and relevant health plan benchmarks employers can use to help them make critical benefits decisions.

The purpose of the survey is to provide employers with comparative data regarding plan costs, employee contributions, and plan designs that will allow them to benchmark their plan against those of similar employers.  That evaluation can be based on employers with similar numbers of employees, employers in a similar industry, or employers in a similar geographic area.  The survey focuses solely on active employee and retiree health plans and directly related benefits (prescription drugs, HRA/HSA, and Section 125 plans) in order to derive the most useful results possible.  A significant strength of this study is its unique ability to support subgroup analyses.

The national scope of the survey allows for regional, industry-specific, and employee size differentials to emerge from the data.  In addition, the exceptionally large number of included plans allows for both a broader range of categories than normally reported and a larger number of respondents in each category.  This is especially true for the small and midsize companies that comprise the overwhelming majority of health plans in the country.

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The survey was conducted in February 2011 through the joint effort of more than 140 of the nation's premier independent advisory firms who comprise UBA. Member Firms invited clients and area employers to complete the web-based survey. The resulting database contains the responses of these 1,280 employers.

The array of respondents were targeted to mirror the actual distribution of employer health plan sponsors based on region of the country, industry group, and number of employee range. The national distribution of UBA Member Firms and the diversity of their client base provide a unique basis to achieve this balance.

The survey was designed to gauge the opinions and strategies of employers who offer health benefits in the following four key areas: Health Care Strategy, Health Benefits Philosophy and Opinion, Health Plan Management, Personal Health Management, Scope of Benefits Offered, and Employee Communications.

The survey delineates the specific health care strategy, cost-containment efforts, opinions, and future expectations regarding employer-sponsored health plans. Results are reported for each of the 16 questions and 108 specific responses offered, with brief commentary regarding the findings and possible implications. The report specifically addresses both current and potential future strategies and identifies areas of increased interest.

A number of themes identified in our last survey conducted in 2010 were dominant again this year, some new findings emerged:

• Nearly all (99.38%) top decision makers remain concerned with the impact health care costs are having or are going to have on their overall corporate costs (essentially unchanged from our last survey).  More than one half said it was a critical concern.  Just slightly fewer (97.89%) are also concerned with the impact health care costs are having on their employees, consistent with our last report.
• In general, employers felt better prepared to communicate and implement more complex strategies to deal with health benefits, yet they are far less prepared to meet the legislative and regulatory requirements, with only one in five employers stating they are fully prepared to deal with all the regulatory compliance requirements.
• The percentage of employers who feel employees should bear the bulk of future health care cost increases remains essentially the same as 2008 (12%) with this year's results of 12.46%.
• At the same time, the belief that their organization should not help employees make effective retirement plan investment decisions (15.75%) decreased by about 25% from 2010 back to a level similar to 2008 (16.5%).
• Only 23.86% of the employers agree they should provide retiree benefits to employees over age 65.
• 93.79% of all employers reporting felt that a good benefits program keeps employees from leaving - improving retention - while 96.94% believe it helps attract new employees.  Two-thirds of the employers believe good benefits improve worker productivity.

Incentive-based employee wellness programs and chronic disease management programs, combined with enhanced employee education and communications, are gaining increased use as key cost-containment alternatives.  These changes are also being fueled by the increasing applicability and decreasing costs of web-based solutions and the growing sophistication of benefits advisors. This has enabled employers of all sizes to now have access to tools, services, and programs that were previously available only to very large employers.

By comparing the results of this report with those of previous surveys, it is possible to identify both patterns of consistency as well as some issues of potential differences in employers' general responses.

For the full report, contact your local UBA Member Firm or email survey@UBAbeneftis.com.

	Press Release
	Key Findings Presentation
	Survey Order Form

The 2010 UBA Employer Opinion Survey was conducted in February 2010. UBA Member firms invited clients and area employers to complete the web-based survey. The resulting database contains the responses of these 1,510 employers.

The array of respondents were targeted to mirror the actual distribution of employer health plan sponsors based on region of the country, industry group, and number of employee range. The national distribution of UBA member firms and the diversity of their client base provide a unique basis to achieve this balance. The survey was designed to gauge the opinions and strategies of employers who offer health benefits in the following four key areas:  Health Care Strategy, Health Benefits Philosophy and Opinion, Health Plan Management, and Consumer Driven Health Care.

The survey delineates the specific health care strategy, cost-containment efforts, opinions, and future expectations regarding employer-sponsored health plans. Results are reported for each of the 16 questions and 108 specific responses offered, with brief commentary regarding the findings and possible implications. The report specifically addresses both current and potential future strategies and identifies areas of increased interest.

	Press Release
	Key Findings Flash Presentation
	Survey Order Form

Special Supplement on Health Care Reform

The results of the UBA 2010 Employer Opinion Survey Special Supplement featuring employer opinions on future costs, plan designs and the impact of health care reform provisions being considered by both houses of Congress are now available. 

Findings of the 2010 UBA Employer Opinion Survey available in April of 2010 will provide employers with critical benchmarks that allow them to compare their attitudes and strategies regarding employer-provided health care with those of their peers and competitors.

Download Special Supplement