Are you concerned about sky-rocketing health insurance costs? A new poll reveals some findings that may quell your fears.

Health Insurance Coverage Study Overview

In August 2015, Harris Poll conducted a survey for Transamerica Center for Health Studies on 1,500 business executives across the United States. The study found that after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, coverage is up overall by 21%. Moreover, almost all firms with more than 50 employees are now providing full benefits for workers, whereas 61% of organizations employing less than 50 are doing so. It must be noted that these numbers are due in part to the Affordable Care Act mandating that companies employing more than 50 people must either offer qualified and affordable health benefits or pay a tax penalty.

Projected View of Health Benefits Costs

The Transamerica study went on to discover that half of business executives believe that the cost of health care benefits will remain constant over the next few years. Only 5% thought that it is possible for costs of insurance to go down. With this information, it is intuitive to surmise that most employers are hopeful and will plan to keep health costs constant. For employees this translates into not foreseeing increases in premiums, deductibles or co-pays. This is, of course, good news for our pocketbooks.

There was more enlightening news from Transamerica Center’s survey. Thirty percent of employers said that because of stable numbers, they plan to maximize employee contributions to premiums. Furthermore, employers are currently offering more choices of health plans and benefits to employees, such as adding a high-deductible plans and consumer-driven options in addition to the traditional PPO or HMO options.

Small Business Perceptions on Health Care

Even though, the glass is half full for large organizations offering benefits; there is still some trepidation among small businesses. Small business employers are less likely to offer high-deductible, consumer-driven plans and health savings accounts (HSA) than their larger counterparts. Only 28% of small employers currently offer HSAs and only 17% offer consumer-driven health plans.

The Takeaway

Still, with Transamerica Center’s new information, it is clear that overall employer health coverage is at an all-time high.

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Read the full article and study at Benefits Pro.