The 2024 edition of the International Foundation’s Employee Benefits Survey addresses many topics that organizations struggle with to keep benefit cost down for their employees. This includes health care plans and prescription drugs. Prior research conducted in 2024 by the International Foundation indicated that organizations are projecting an 8% increase for their 2025 health care costs. Organizations are using various initiatives, programs, analyses and cost-control methods to combat the ever-growing increase in benefits costs.

Telehealth Savings is Not Witchcraft

Purchasing/Provider Initiatives

Not surprisingly, the growth of telemedicine/telehealth continues to be a popular cost-containment offering. Other popular techniques are price transparency tools, center of excellence and health care advocates/navigators. Health care advocates/navigators showed a significant increase in the percentage of organizations utilizing this technique since 2022 (23%).

• Telemedicine/telehealth: 78%
• Price transparency/comparison tools: 39%
• Centers of excellence: 30%
• Health care advocates/navigators: 28%
• Tiered provider networks: 12%

Telemedicine/Telehealth Services Offered

New to the 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, respondents who offer telemedicine/telehealth services were asked about the specific teleservices they provide. General medical stands atop as the service most organizations offer via telehealth, followed closely by mental health. Behavioral health care, primary care and dermatology round out the top five. The full list of services can be found in the 2024 survey report.

• General medical (flu, allergies, etc.): 92%
• Mental health (anxiety, depression, etc.): 72%
• Behavioral health care (diet, exercise, sleep, etc.): 56%
• Primary care: 51%
• Dermatology (eczema, acne, etc.): 45%

Don’t Let Ghosts Scare You from Implementing Utilization Control Initiatives

Utilization Control Initiatives

Utilization control initiatives are an integral piece of the overall cost-control strategy. Organizations participate in a variety of initiatives. Promoting preventive care and prior authorization are the most popular. Case management, disease management and nurse advice lines are also heavily utilized; however, all their usage has declined significantly from 2022. On the other hand, on-site/near-site health care clinics increased significantly.

• Promoting preventive care: 72%
• Prior authorization, utilization management: 69%
• Case management: 63% (69% in 2022)
• Disease management: 59% (65% in 2022)
• Nurse advice lines: 50% (60% in 2022)
• High-cost claims management (e.g., early intervention): 43%
• Health care consumer education/medical self-care guides: 34%
• Second opinion services: 21%
• On-site/near-site health care clinics: 17% (12% in 2022)

Are those Pesky Prescription Vampires Draining Your Savings?

Prescription Drug Cost-Control Strategies

Prescription drug costs continue to represent a sizable proportion of an organization’s total health care cost. Organizations utilize many different techniques to help control prescription drug costs. The techniques listed below all increased considerably in popularity since 2022.

• Drug formulary: 85% (78% in 2022)
• Prior authorization, utilization management: 64% (59% in 2022)
• Preferred provider networks: 41% (36% in 2022)
• Special limits for specialty and biotech drugs: 24% (19% in 2022)
• Cover select over-the-counter (OTC) drugs: 20% (14% in 2022)

A popular drug cost-control strategy that many organizations use is pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) (69%), and nearly all the organizations that work with a PBM receive rebates (90%).

For more information on Employee Benefits: 2024 Survey Report: visit www.ifebp.org/ebs2024