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HEALTHCARE
12% cost increase seen for employers

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Healthcare costs for US employers will increase by 12 percent next year, reports Towers Perrin.

That's down from a 16 percent increase in 2003. However, the management consulting firm said the 2004 increase will still have a dramatic impact on businesses.

''Employers are facing yet another grim year of double-digit increases in healthcare costs and their employees are facing the harsh prospect of paying even higher out-of-pocket costs,'' said Jim Foreman, managing director of health and welfare at Towers Perrin.

The survey found that in 2004 the average cost of medical coverage for all types of health plans will be $314 per month, or $3,768 for the year for a single employee. Employers will pay $627 per month, or $7,524 per year for an employee with one dependent, and $888 per month, or $10,656 per year for family coverage.

Towers Perrin found that retirees will be required to pay for nearly half of their healthcare coverage as employers struggle to hold costs down. This means that retirees under 65 will spend, on average, $483 per month, or $5,706 per year, the report said. Retirees who are over 65 will pay an average of $111 a month for their medical coverage. Retirees' family coverage will average $232 per month, or $2,784 per year.

''The irony is that employers are paying more, but their employees feel as if they are getting less,'' said Rich Ostuw, a Towers Perrin principal and senior healthcare consultant. ''Healthcare is an emotional issue for employees. Companies are reluctant to make dramatic changes to their health plans because they recognize that their employees are already feeling squeezed in this environment of modest wage increases. However, employers are at their limit.''

ABSENTEEISM
Workers take fewer sick days, report says

Most large employers saw a reduction in absenteeism rates this year, said the Bureau of National Affairs Inc.

The BNA, a private publishing firm, reports that employers with 2,500 or more workers saw their median monthly absenteeism rates drop from 1.4 percent in the first half of 2002 to 1.3 percent during the same period this year, the lowest six-month average in 20 years.

Employers with 1,000 to 2,499 workers saw their six-month average fall from 2 percent to 1.8 percent, according to the BNA, which tracks workplace trends. Small employers with 250 to 499 employees saw their rates rise to 1.9 percent, up from 1.7 percent last year, the BNA said.

Illnesses resulting in absences of one to five days cost companies as much as $300 billion per year, according to the Disability Management Employer Coalition, a nonprofit organization.

WORKING MOTHERS
Firms make list of top 100 employers

Five Massachusetts companies are among the top 100 employers in the United States for working mothers, according to Working Mother magazine.

The magazine found that, despite a sluggish economy, work-life benefits continue to prosper at firms that are most hospitable to female employees with children.

In Massachusetts, the following firms were among those honored for having top benefits by the magazine this month: Arnold Worldwide, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, FleetBoston Financial, Harvard University, and MITRE Corp.

''Even these tough economic times haven't swayed the commitment of our forward-thinking 100 best companies,'' said Jill Kirschenbaum, editor in chief of the magazine. ''Workplace cultures at the best places to work have changed and now reflect the permanent impact of working mothers. Companies are also responding to pressure from both men and women in Generation X and Y who want balanced lives.''

Four years ago, only 30 percent of the companies on the 100 best list had child-care programs and flexible scheduling options, said Kirschenbaum. Today, most of the top 100 offer such programs and many have added after-school, holiday, and emergency care for the children and parents of workers as well as fitness programs. In a new development, some companies are also providing after-school programs for teenagers or support and counseling for parents with middle-school and high-school children.

At Harvard University, for example, the teenage children of employees can participate in community programs sponsored by the university, including a summer employment program and Job Shadow Days for teens. The university also offers backup and sick-child care and served some 700 children last year, the magazine said.

The magazine also found that companies on its list have added new benefits, offering everything from child-care programs to massages to take-home dinners in a push to reduce stress and keep employees happy. Kirschenbaum attributed this shift to a growing awareness among some US firms that work-life benefits can be an important recruitment and retention tool and an essential part of their business strategy.

FleetBoston Financial Corp. has a year-old corporate wellness Intranet site, which offers workers information on fitness, nutrition, disease prevention, and family health. The site averages 31,000 hits per month, the magazine said.

The company also expanded its backup child-care offering to include a $50 a day subsidy for workers with licensed care and $25 a day for those with unlicensed daycare. This allows parents to leave their sick children with relatives, a friend, or a neighbor, the magazine said.

FleetBoston also has established a Women's Interest Network. The organization, which has grown from 480 members to 1,885 in 2002, offers networking forums, panel discussions on career development, and seminars about work-life benefits, according to Working Mother.

The magazine reported that at Arnold Worldwide, a Boston advertising firm, backup child care has been utilized by more than 50 percent of the company's workers. Additionally, the firm offers elder-care resources and a lactation program for nursing mothers.

Meanwhile, at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, workers who need a nanny to watch their children can use the American Nanny Co. Blue Cross contracts with that firm and covers up to $500 of the costs associated with finding in-home nanny care. The company also has three on-site or near-site daycare centers in Boston and Quincy, the magazine reported.

''In the past year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts has expanded other benefits aimed at working parents,'' reported Working Mother. ''It underwrites a portion of the fees for eight weeks of summer camp, up to $180 per week for one employee's child and $90 a week for additional children. It also makes backup care available through a national chain for only $15 per child per day.''

DIANE E. LEWIS

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