High-deductible health insurance plans continue to grow in popularity among Rochester area employers, as businesses seek to keep benefits affordable for them and their employees, according to the Rochester Business Alliance's 2011 Health Benefits Survey.

For 2011, 46 percent of employers responding to the survey offered one or more high-deductible health insurance plans accompanied by a health savings account, up from 30 percent in 2010 and 15 percent in 2009.

"High-deductible health plans allow employees to have greater control over their health care expenditures by encouraging them to be better consumers. But these plans also benefit many employers that realize some level of cost savings due to lower premiums," said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance. "Our member companies continue to offer health care benefits to their employees because they believe it is important and essential. But for the overall health of their entire business, they still have to control costs where they can."

Other highlights of the survey:

• Responding employers said they expect their 2012 health insurance premiums to rise by an average of 12 percent.
• Asked about covering the increase, 13 percent of respondents said they plan to absorb the majority, 12 percent plan to split the increase with employees, and 7 percent plan to pass on either a majority or all of the cost.
• 18 percent said they are considering reducing benefits or offering lower cost plans, up from 14 percent a year ago, while 26 percent are considering increasing plan deductibles and/or employee co-pays.
• 32 percent said they are considering or planning to offer a wellness program to keep their workforce healthy and offset costs, about the same as last year.

Meanwhile, the survey found that employers continue to pay a significant share of their employees' health insurance premiums. Respondents reported contributing an average of 73 percent of single-person plan and 66 percent of two-person, 69 percent of family plans without coverage for a spouse, and 65 percent of family premiums. However, this year, 19 percent, plan to pay the full cost of single coverage for at least one plan, down from 22 percent a year ago.

Employer premium contributions as a percentage of payroll averaged 8.7 percent, down from 10 percent last year. The average employer contributions by health insurance plan contract level were:

• $278 a month or $3,336 a year for single coverage, up 1 percent from a year ago.
• $555 a month or $6,660 a year for a two-person household, up 2 percent.
• $607 a month of $7,284 a year for family no spouse coverage (data not collected in 2010).
• $679 a month of $8,148 a year for family coverage, up 5 percent.

The percentage of employers offering dental insurance remained steady at 97 percent. Employers tend to contribute much less toward dental premiums than they do for health, averaging 43 percent for single, 41 percent for two-person, 39 percent for family no spouse, and 39 percent for family. This year, 35 percent of respondents reported that the company does not contribute toward dental premiums at all.

In comparing Rochester's health care costs with other communities, 13 percent said local costs are higher, same as last year; 38 percent said local costs were lower, down from 40 percent a year ago, while 49 percent said costs are about the same, up from 48 percent a year ago.

Some other findings:

• 27 percent said they provide cash incentives averaging $1,196 to employees who opt-out of employer-sponsored health insurance plans.
• 63 percent offer health benefits to their part-time employees, down from 67 percent a year ago.
• 14 percent offer health benefits to all retirees, down from 17 percent last year.
• 61 percent offer coverage for domestic partners, up from 53 percent last year.
• 46 percent of employers offered two different health insurance plans to their employees this year, while 25 percent offered three plans, and 19 percent offered one plan.

This survey included responses from 208 member organizations representing 102,990 employees. The Health Benefits survey is conducted annually by the Rochester Business Alliance's Human Resource Services department, and is one of many annual wage, benefits, and human resource practice surveys conducted by the Rochester Business Alliance each year. Only RBA Corporate and Partner members are eligible to participate in the survey and receive the full results.