The
cost of healthcare plans is spiralling because more employers are choosing to
use private treatment than the NHS, according to research by Mercer HR.
Costs
are now running at several times the rate of inflation, and Mercer reports that
this is causing many employers limit the number of policies on offer.
However,
Steve Clements, European partner at Mercer, said it was false economy to cut
back on healthcare and predicted many firms would follow the US model and offer
staff a capped amount to spend on treatment each year.
He
said rather than cutting back, employers should be investing more in healthcare
as an effective way of reducing sickness absence.
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