2022 Employee Contributions Trends in Employer Sponsored Health Plans

Annual family 2022 premiums will average $22,463, with employees in employer sponsored health plans contributing on average $6,106, the annual Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Employer Health Benefits Survey uncovered.

“Employers are already concerned about what they pay for health premiums, but this could be the calm before the storm, as recent inflation suggests that larger increases are imminent,” said Drew Altman, president and chief executive officer of KFF. “Given the tight labor market and rising wages, it will be tough for employers to shift costs onto workers when costs spike.”

The survey drew its data from over 2,100 small and large employers. Participants were interviewed between February and July 2022.

Employees with an annual single deductible will face, on average, $1,763 in single deductible spending.

Single coverage employees contribute around $111 per month. Employees with family coverage pay on average $509 per month.

Employees at smaller companies will have higher costs than employees at larger firms with 200 employees or more. Small company employees will have average annual family premium contributions of around $7,556 and average single deductibles of $2,543. Meanwhile, large firm employees will have average annual family premium contributions of approximately $5,580 and average single deductibles of $1,493.

Additionally, workers in small companies contribute 10 percentage points more for family coverage than large firm employees, with employees in small companies covering 36 percent of their family coverage while large firm employees cover 26 percent. Among employees in small companies, 31 percent said that they cover more than half of the premium, compared to seven percent of employees in large firms.

Employee contributions for single coverage has increased 39 percent in the past decade, nine percent in the past five years alone.

Employees in 2022 with single coverage are responsible for 17 percent of the single coverage premium, which is consistent with the averages across the past decade, particularly in single coverage. Thirteen percent of employees with single coverage report that their employers cover the entirety of their premiums.

Employee contributions for family coverage increased 41 percent over the past decade.

Employees in 2022 with family coverage typically pay 28 percent of the family coverage premium, which also remains consistent with previous years’ contributions. Five percent of workers with family coverage reported that their employers covered 100 percent of their premiums.

In 2021, employer-sponsored health plan spending rose along with the number of firms that offered healthcare coverage for their employees.

In 2023, experts have projected that two key factors will influence employer premiums. Market inflation on healthcare services pricing and the utilization rate of healthcare services are expected to contribute to potential premium increases.

Employer sponsored health plans took a hit during the coronavirus pandemic. Between January 2020 and June 2021, employer-sponsored health plan enrollment dropped by 700,000 enrollees, or five percent. Experts said that the data pointed to the severe impact that the pandemic had on small businesses and the female labor force. Given these impacts, researchers warned that readers should keep a close eye on enrollment in 2022.