2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey
The 2019 Employer Health Benefits Survey was released on September 25..
This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, offer rates, wellness programs, and employer practices. The 2018 survey included 2,160 interviews with non-federal public and private firms. Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $19,616 this year, up 5% from last year, with workers on average paying $5,547 toward the cost of their coverage. The average deductible among covered workers in a plan with a general annual deductible is $1,573 for single coverage. Fifty-six percent of small firms and 98% of large firms offer health benefits to at least some of their workers, with an overall offer rate of 57%. Survey results are released in several formats, including a full report with downloadable tables on a variety of topics, a summary of findings, and an article published in the journal Health Affairs.
News release
- A news release announcing the publication of the 2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey is available here.
summary of findings
- The Summary of Findings provides an overview of the 2018 survey results and is available under the Summary of Findings tab.
full report
- The complete Employer Health Benefits Survey report includes over 200 exhibits and is available under the Report The “Report” tab contains 14 separate sections. Users can view each section separately or download the section exhibits from the right side of the respective section page.
health affairs
- The peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs has published an article with key findings from the 2018 survey: Health Benefits In 2018: Modest Growth in Premiums, Higher Worker Contributions at Firms with More Low-Wage Workers, More Workers Face a Deductible.
related analysis
- This related brief on the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker examines employer claims data to measure the uptake of telemedicine services by employees and their family members.
web briefing
- On Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018, the Kaiser Family Foundation held a reporters-only web briefing to release the 2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey.
interactive graphic
- This graphing tool allows users to look at changes in premiums and worker contributions for covered workers at different types of firms over time: Premiums and Worker Contributions Among Workers Covered by Employer-Sponsored Coverage, 1999-2018.
key exhibits-chartpack
- Nearly thirty overview slides from the 2018 Employer Health Benefits Survey are available as a slideshow or PDF.
additional resources
- Standard errors for selected estimates are available in the Technical Supplement here.
- Employer Health Benefits Surveys from 1998–2017 are available here. Please note that historic survey reports have not been revised with methodological changes.
- Researchers may request a public use dataset by going to Contact Us and choosing “TOPIC: Health Costs.”
Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago designed and analyzed the survey.