SUMMARYOFFINDINGS providersthataremoreefficientandgenerallyprovidefinancialorotherincentivesforenrolleestousetheselectedproviders. NarrowNetworks. Ninepercentoflargefirmsofferinghealthbenefitsofferahealthplanthattheyconsidertohaveanarrow network(i.e., a network they wouldconsidermorerestrictivethanastandardHMOnetwork),similartothepercentage reportedlastyear[FigureI]. EliminatedHospitalsorHealthSystems. Only3%oflargefirmsreportthattheyortheirhealthplaneliminatedahospitalor healthsysteminthepastyearinordertoreducethecostsoftheirplan,similartothepercentagereportedlastyear[FigureI]. PrivateExchanges. Fourpercentoffirmsofferinghealthbenefitswithatleast50workersofferhealthbenefitsthrougha private exchange. Amongfirmsofferinghealthbenefitsthatdonotcurrentlyofferthroughaprivateexchange,10%withat least 50 workers, including 22% with at least 5,000 workers, say they have considered offering coverage through a private exchange. CONCLUSION Themarketforemployer-sponsoredhealthbenefitscontinuesalongwithnobigchangesin2017. Premiumincreasesare modestandthereisnoappreciablechangeincostsharingorenrollmentbytypeofplan. Employerscontinuetoinvestin healthpromotionandwellnessapproaches,includingbuildingincentivesaroundprogramsthatcollectinformationabout employeehealthandlifestyles. Despitecontinuingeconomicimprovement,withlowerratesofunemployment,andtheACAemployermandate,thereareno signsthatthelong-termdeclinesintheofferandcoverageratesarereversing. Evenwithmodestpremiumgrowth,offerrates for small firms remainmuchlowerthanthoseforlargefirms,andthepercentageofworkerscoveredatworkremainsat62%. Wecontinuetoseesignificantvariationaroundtheaveragepremiumsandcontributionamounts,particularlyforsmall businesses. Ameaningfulshareofcoveredworkersinsmallfirmsmustpayasubstantialshareofthecostoffamilycoverage, raising the question of whether this is a viable source of coverage for the dependents of these workers. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 13