Health insurance is one of the most costly benefits for employers, accounting for 5.4 percent of total compensation costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And health care spending could double by 2007, according to the Health Care Finance Administration.
Aging workers, new pharmaceuticals, advances in medical technology, and eroding profits of insurers and managed care companies are among the factors driving cost increases, according to information collected by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses.