“Solving The Health Care Insurance Mess“: Forbes.com reports. The article notes that Towers Perrin’s 2004 Health Care Survey indicates that employers will face a 14% increase in health care costs in 2004, which amounts to a $742 increase per employee from 2003. Quote of Note: “In the face of such dire predictions, companies are bracing themselves. So far, most have stuck with traditional strategies: 57% of the 402 fastest-growing companies of the past five years have raised deductibles since 2000, while 54% have changed carriers and 19% have reduced or eliminated coverage, according to a PricewaterhouseCooper study. But with the cost increases showing no sign of letting up, they are now investigating new approaches like prevention and employee education as additional ways to stem health care expenses.”
The Wizard of Id‘s solution to the health care mess at the Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter.