CHIA Publishes Results from 2024 Massachusetts Employer Survey (MES)
DATE: December 12, 2024
The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) has released summary results from a statewide health benefits survey of Massachusetts employers. Results show that most Massachusetts firms (67 percent) offered health insurance to their employees in 2024, a higher rate than firms nationally (54 percent).
The Massachusetts Employer Survey (MES) is a biennial survey that asks a representative sample of employers to share their experiences and challenges in offering health insurance and related benefits to their employees. The 2024 MES provides valuable insights into the employer health insurance market, including how the landscape of workplace health benefits has shifted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and persistent cost pressures. Estimates are provided for small firms with three to 199 employees and larger firms with 200 or more employees in Massachusetts, and a special chapter provides more granular estimates on key measures for employers with fewer than 50 employees.
The 2024 MES includes new analyses of firm contributions to health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) offered in conjunction with high deductible health plans (HDHPs); telemedicine coverage and modality; and the types of services provided by an agent, broker, or consultant during employer benefit decision-making. It was fielded from April through September 2024.
Key Findings:
- In 2024, 67 percent of firms in the Commonwealth offered health insurance, higher than the national rate of 54 percent, but a comparable proportion of employees in firms offering insurance were actually enrolled in their employer-sponsored insurance (56 percent and 61 percent, respectively).
- Compared with their national counterparts, the average monthly premium for single coverage was higher in Massachusetts ($789 vs. $746), and employees contributed a larger share of the premium (24 percent vs. 15 percent) with lower average annual deductibles ($1,354 vs. $1,787).
- Among firms offering insurance, 71 percent offered at least one high deductible health plan (HDHP). More than half of small firms (56 percent) and nearly one-third of large firms (31 percent) offered HDHPs exclusively.
- For single coverage, firms contributed an average of $1,916 annually to HRAs paired with HDHPs and $630 to HSAs, and approximately twice that amount ($3,480 and $1,255, respectively) for family coverage.
Nearly a quarter of firms (23 percent) reported having increased member cost-sharing in the past 12 months to manage rising health insurance costs.
This report is also accompanied by a databook, a field report with technical details, and the survey questionnaire.
For more information, read the complete 2024 MES report on CHIA’s website.