THE HEALTH-INSURANCE PICTURE IN 1993 - SOME RARE GOOD-NEWS

Based on a national survey conducted in spring 1993 of 1,953 private a nd public employers, this DataWatch examines the design of employer-sp onsored health benefits and how they have changed during the past five years. We contrast cost of coverage, employee cost sharing, and premi um increases among small, mid-size, and large firms. Premiums increase d 8.5 percent from 1992 to 1993, the lowest rate of increase since 198 6-1987. Future premium increases should be modest by historical standa rds. Small firms and conventional plans experienced larger premium inc reases last year. Managed care plans now constitute 51 percent of enro llment, up from 29 percent in 1988. If current trends continue, even w ithout health care reform legislation, the health care system of the f uture will contrast strikingly with the system most Americans remember from past decades.