By Jim Cline

A year unlike any other, health care has been at the center of our attention. What does that mean for insurance costs going forward? Always an important part of the negotiated total compensation, we’re also paying attention to the trends in health care costs.

Our preliminary assessment of costs based on our review of several major plan offerings shows moderate increases for 2021 rates. Here’s a breakdown by major carrier and plan:

Not all these plans are of equivalent value. This table breaks out the rates by each of the tiers and the major plan specs.

The popular and often bargained for LEOFF Trust plan has seen several spikes in rates over the recent years that have made it less cost-competitive compared to AWC and PEBB plans. For 2021, the LEOFF rates are increasing only by 2.5% which reflects some apparent improvements in the Trust’s claims experience and utilization. After several years of relatively good performance, AWC rates are rising 4-5%.

We’re at the outset of collecting 2021 data statewide and will make that available as we collect and evaluate it. Overall, we had expected moderate 2021 rate increases based on industry utilization reports.  Despite the pandemic that is filling ICUs, overall health care utilization appears to be reduced this year.  People are deferring optional medical procedures and generally avoiding clinic visits.  More widespread use of telemedicine has reduced costs for 2020 and could result in some longer-term savings as well.

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