Aon Hewitt Advises Workers To Do Their Homework Before Enrolling In Benefits This Open Enrollment Season

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. employees soon will be asked to make decisions about their 2013 benefits during open enrollment season. According to Aon Hewitt, the global human resources solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), the benefits offered to employees next year may be impacted by a number of factors, including rising health care costs, the declining health of the population and phase-in of provisions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). 

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According to Aon Hewitt, 55 percent of employees default to their current benefit coverage for the coming year, instead of actively reassessing their plan options. What many workers do not realize is that the old selection may not be the best option.

Data from Aon Hewitt shows health care costs are expected to rise 6.3 percent in 2013 to $11,188 per employee, compared to $10,522 in 2012. In most cases, employers still shoulder much of the cost, but workers should expect to see their portion of the total cost rise in the form of increased premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The amount employees will pay for their health care benefits in 2013 is expected to be close to $5,000 — $2,385 in premiums and another $2,449 in out-of-pocket costs.  

"It is easy to fall back on the status quo and assume that your 2012 benefits choices will continue to meet your needs in 2013," said Craig Rosenberg, Aon Hewitt's national leader for Health & Welfare Benefits Administration. "But changes to family health care needs, employer plan offerings and costs make it important for workers to reevaluate their selections every year."

Aon Hewitt offers the following tips for employees this open enrollment season:

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