SURVEYDESIGNANDMETHODS formularieshavebecomemoreintricate,manyfirmshaveminimumandmaximumamountsattachedtotheircopaymentsand coinsurance,leadingustobelieveitwasnolongerappropriatetoassumethatafirm’scostsharingfollowedthissequential logic. Toreducethelengthofsurvey,inseveralareas,includingstoplosscoverageforself-fundedfirmsandcostsharingforhospital admissions,outpatientsurgery,andemergencyroomvisits,werevisedthequestionnairetoaskrespondentsaboutthe attributes of their largest health plan rather than each plan type they may offer. This expands on the method we used for prescription drugcoveragein2016. Therefore,forthesetopics,aggregatevariablesrepresenttheattributesofthefirm’slargest plantype,andarenotaweightedaverageofallofthefirmsplantypes. Inprevioussurveys,ifafirmhadtwoplantypes,one withacopaymentandonewithacoinsuranceforhospitaladmissions,thecoveredworkerweightwasallottedproportionally towardtheaveragecopaymentandcoinsurancebasedonthenumberofcoveredworkerswitheitherfeature. Withofthis change,comparisonamongplanstypesisnowacomparisonoffirmswhereanygivenplantypeisthelargest. Thechangeonly affectsfirmsthathavemultipleplantypes(58%ofcoveredworkers). Afterreviewingtheresponsesandcomparingthemto prior years whereweaskedabouteachplantype,wefindthattheinformationwearereceivingissimilartoresponsesfrom previousyears. Forthisreason,wewillcontinuetoreportourresultsforthesequestionsweightedbythenumberofcovered workersinrespondingfirms. Starting in 2017, respondentswereallowedtovolunteerthattheirplansdidnotcoveroutpatientsurgeryorhospital admissions. Lessthan1%ofrespondentsindicatedthattheirplandidnotincludecoveragefortheseservices. Costsharingfor hospital admissions, outpatient surgery and emergencyroomvisitswasimputedbydrawingafirmsimilarinsizeandindustry withinthesameplantype. In 2017, HSA-qualifiedhealthplansarenotallowedtohaveseparateper-persondeductiblesbelowtheminimumfamily deductible($2,600in2017). Somefirmsreportedper-persondeductiblesbelowthislimit;inthesecases,firmswere re-contacted,andinsomeinstances,respondentsconfirmedtheseresponses. Weelectednottoeditthesedeductiblestothe legal minimum. Beginningin2017,valuesbelow3%arenotshownongraphicalfigurestoimprovethereadabilityofthosegraphs. The underlyingdataforallestimatespresentedingraphsisavailableatwww.kff.org/ehbs. AnnualinflationestimatesareusuallycalculatedfromApriltoApril. The12monthpercentagechangeforMaytoMaywas 12 2%. HISTORICALDATA DatainthisreportfocusprimarilyonfindingsfromsurveysjointlyauthoredbytheKaiserFamilyFoundationandtheHealth Research&EducationalTrust,whichhavebeenconductedsince1999. Priorto1999,thesurveywasconductedbytheHealth InsuranceAssociationofAmerica(HIAA)andKPMGusingasimilarsurveyinstrument,butdataarenotavailableforallthe interveningyears. Followingthesurvey’sintroductionin1987,theHIAAconductedthesurveythrough1990,butsomedata arenotavailableforanalysis. KPMGconductedthesurveyfrom1991-1998. However,in1991,1992,1994,and1997,onlylarger firmsweresampled. In1993,1995,1996,and1998,KPMGinterviewedbothlargeandsmallfirms. In1998,KPMGdivesteditself of its CompensationandBenefitsPractice,andpartofthatdivestitureincludeddonatingtheannualsurveyofhealthbenefits toHRET. This report uses historical data from the 1993, 1996, and 1998 KPMG Surveys of Employer-SponsoredHealthBenefitsandthe 1999-2016Kaiser/HRETSurveyofEmployer-SponsoredHealthBenefits. Foralonger-termperspective,wealsousethe1988 surveyofthenation’semployersconductedbytheHIAA,onwhichtheKPMGandKaiser/HRETsurveysarebased. Thesurvey designsforthethreesurveysaresimilar. Published: September19th,2017. LastUpdated: 2017-09-14 12 BureauofLaborStatistics,ConsumerPriceIndex,U.S.CityAverageofAnnualInflation(ApriltoApril),2000-2017;[cited2017July21]http: //data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0?output_view=pct_1mth The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 23