J.P. Farley News and Blog

Which Industries Pay the Highest Health Care Cost Per Employee?

The 2011 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Health Care Benchmarking Survey examined health care costs for U.S. employees and found that costs vary widely, depending on the industry. One way to try to streamline health care costs is to opt for a self-funded health plan.

Some of the industries that the survey found "spent the most on health care per covered employee during plan year 2010" were: Utilities; Insurance; Real Estate; Government; and Manufacturing. The industries that spent the least were: Telecommunications; Publishing; Broadcasting and other Media; Accommodation and Food Services; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; and Business Support Services.

For Utilities, the industry with the highest spending, the mean figure for spending per employee was $20,567 and for Manufacturing it was $11,114.

The mean spending figures per covered employee for the companies that spent the least ranged from $5,626 (Telecommunications) to $7,188 (Business Support Services).

While SHRM acknowledges that there are many reasons why there is such variation in health care costs among the industries surveyed, they did note that presences (or absence) of unions as well as an aging workforce could have an impact on how much an employer spends on heath care.

It is also significant that SHRM found, "the average monthly employer contribution to a consumer-driven health plan in 2010 was $258, but for a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan it was $420.”

You may not be able to control all of the variables when it comes to employee health, but you can implement a health plan that keep costs down overall. Third-party administrator J.P. Farley offers customized plan solutions and guaranteed measurable value. The company was founded to deliver added value to employee benefit Plans that are self-funded for medical, prescription, dental, vision, and short-term and long-term disability benefits.

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