This year, U.S. companies and their employees saw the lowest health-care premium rate increases in six years, according to an analysis by Aon Hewitt, the global human-resources consulting business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON). 

The average health-care insurance-premium rate increase for large employers in 2012 was 4.9 percent, down from 8.5 percent in 2011 and 6.2 percent in 2010, according to Aon Hewitt. However, average health-care premium increases are projected to jump up to 6.3 percent in 2013.

Aon Hewitt’s analysis showed the average health-care cost per employee was $10,522 in 2012, up from $10,034 in 2011. The portion of the total health-care premium that employees were asked to contribute toward this premium cost was $2,204 in 2012, up from $2,090 in 2011. Meanwhile, average employee out-of-pocket costs — such as copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles — totaled $2,200 in 2012, up from $2,072 in 2011, Aon Hewitt said.

For 2013, average health-care costs per employee are projected to rise to $11,188. Consistent with the previous two years, employees will be asked to contribute 21 percent of the total health-care premium, which equates to $2,385 for 2013, according to Aon Hewitt. Average employee out-of-pocket costs are expected to increase to $2,429.         

Employer-sponsored health-insurance premiums grew more slowly in 2012 than in previous years, but still rose faster than inflation. That’s according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.

The national survey found that annual family health-insurance premiums increased 4 percent to $15,745. Premiums for single coverage edged up 3 percent to $5,615.

The cost of both types of medical coverage increased more slowly than in 2011. Family premiums grew more than 9 percent to $15,073 last year, while individual premiums rose nearly 8 percent in 2011 to $5,429.

“On the slowdown, of course everyone’s trying to figure this out,” Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman said during a conference call to discuss the 2012 survey’s findings. The slow economy likely contributed to the decrease in premiums’ rate of growth, he said. Or, insurers may not have needed to raise premiums as quickly after last year, he added.

“It’s also possible that 9 percent last year has some effect on what we’re seeing this year,” he said.

Although health-coverage premiums eased their rate of increase in 2012, they still outpaced inflation and wage growth. Inflation was 2.3 percent, while wages grew at 1.7 percent, according to Kaiser.

The one-year slowdown also did little to dent a decade’s worth of inflation in health-insurance costs, the survey’s numbers show. Since 2002, average premiums for family health coverage ballooned 97 percent. Worker contributions jumped 102 percent during that time.

“Workers’ contributions to premiums are up 180 percent since we started this survey in 1999, and their wages are up 47 percent,” Altman said. “That’s why what looks like recent moderation to experts doesn’t always feel that way to working people.”

The average annual health-insurance premium contribution for a worker with family coverage in 2012 was $4,316, up from $4,129 in 2011. It was $951 for single coverage, up from $921 the previous year.

Preferred-provider organizations, or PPOs, were the most common type of plan in 2012, covering 56 percent of workers with employer-sponsored coverage. High-deductible health plans (HDHP) with savings options covered 19 percent, and health-maintenance organizations covered 16 percent. Another 9 percent of workers were in point-of-service plans.

Enrollment growth in HDHPs tapered off in 2012, according to the survey. The 19 percent enrolled in the plans this year was just 2 percentage points higher than the 17 percent reported in last year’s survey, which is not statistically significant, the survey found. Previous years saw more growth in HDHPs — enrollment in the plans grew 4 percentage points between 2010 and 2011 and 5 percentage points between 2009 and 2010.

“We’re seeing a plateauing this year in growth in high-deductible plans and cost-sharing,” Altman said. “The question is, is this just a temporary timeout, and we’ll see the recent trend toward more people in high-deductible plans resume in future surveys?”

Availability of employer-sponsored health coverage was also virtually unchanged from 2011, the survey found. In 2012, 61 percent of employers offered health-insurance benefits, up 1 point from the previous year.

Larger firms were more likely to offer health-care benefits, the survey said. Just half of firms with three to nine workers offered benefits, compared to 98 percent of firms with 200 or more employees. Among all firms with three to 199 workers, 61 percent offered health benefits.

Employers also reported on their expected change in health-insurance premiums for 2013. They cited an average increase of 7 percent.

However, Kaiser noted that early reports of premium increases are not always accurate because firms raise deductibles, change benefits, or move to new coverage. This year, 54 percent of employers offering health benefits reported shopping for new coverage. Among those firms, 18 percent switched insurance carriers and 27 percent changed their plan type.

The Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust 2012 Employer Health Benefits Survey, issued Sept. 11, is in its 14th year. It included 3,326 randomly selected non-federal public and private firms with three or more employees surveyed between January and May 2012. Firms predicted their insurance-premium increases for next year in August.

Kaiser is a not-for-profit organization based in Menlo Park, Calif. The Health Research and Educational Trust is a nonprofit with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. 

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com