Everyone knows that healthcare costs are expensive and rising. The problem for owner-operators and independent drivers is how to get some form of coverage to help defray those costs, as corporate America is cutting back on company healthcare options.

A report by economists from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), published in the journal Health Affairs, found that in 2004, the healthcare bill for the U.S. topped $2 trillion--or about $6,280 per person. The study pointed out at a rate of 7.9%, spending on healthcare grew faster than the economy.

“Medical spending continues to rise faster than wages and faster than economic growth, and workers are paying much more in healthcare premiums than just a few years ago,” said the CMMS report. “Continued spending growth will require difficult trade-offs for businesses, households and governments as other spending also increase. These trade-offs are more stringent for those with fewer resources.”

The CMMS study also found that spending is growing not only in dollar terms, but also as a share of the economy, with healthcare representing 16% of the economic pie in 2004, compared with 13.8% in 1993 and only 9.1% in 1980.

On top of that, a shrinking number of U.S. employees work at companies offering to pay their entire monthly bill for healthcare coverage, with the largest drop occurring in big companies, according to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

About 28% of employees worked at businesses that offered fully paid health plans in 2003, compared with 35% in 1998, according to AHRQ. Those findings suggest that more companies were trying to control rising healthcare costs with employee contributions, says Steven Cohen, the director of the agency’s Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends.

Employer healthcare costs increased an average 9.9% in 2004, with employee contributions almost doubling since 2002, according to research by Hewitt Associates, a benefits consulting firm. About 14% of employees had access to paid family health plans in 2003, down from 18% in 1998.

Large companies (50 or more workers) accounted for most of the decrease in fully paid health plans, according to AHRQ, where the share of employees whose companies offered to pay the full premium fell to 22% from 28%. For small companies, the rate fell to 53% from 56%.

For independent truckers, this makes getting affordable health coverage that much tougher, David Lindsey, CEO of Dallas, TX-based healthcare provider USNow, told DRIVERS.

“Traditionally, owner-operators have only had access to individual plans. These plans are subject to underwriting guidelines that have riders, or clauses excluding applicants for various health conditions, smoking status, participant being considered overweight, etc.,” he said. “But these plans are also more difficult to access and are typically very expensive.”

That means that individual coverage is becoming more of a necessity. Fortunately, healthcare insurance providers are moving to offer more such plans. According to a report by HealthLeaders-InterStudy (HLIS), a leading provider of managed care industry intelligence, as the cost of health insurance rises for employers of all sizes, health insurance is becoming more of an individual game.

What USNow and other healthcare providers are increasingly offering are managed, limited-benefit health plans, which provide individuals and employees with access to affordable group healthcare. While these programs are not a substitute for major medical coverage, they offer affordable medical benefits that include doctor visits, emergency room visits, hospitalization, anesthesia, intensive care, wellness and prescription drug coverage, among others, said Lindsay.

“Our Driver Advantage Plan gives the independent contractor access to a benefit plan that is guaranteed issue, has no pre-existing exclusions except for pregnancy if diagnosed prior to the health coverage being initiated,” he said. “Also, we’re offering it at a considerably lower price than individual coverage – a step forward from our traditional managed, limited-benefit healthcare plan.”

Lindsay noted that in the past independent drivers usually could only access health coverage through a group plan via a motor carrier; offering independents a form of group coverage without having to sponsor the plan. Under USNow’s new plan, individual contractors can now join the Independent Trucking Group (ITG) and gain access to health benefits as one of the aspects of membership.

“To simplify matters for the driver, his/her association dues are simply incorporated into their monthly healthcare premium,” Lindsay told DRIVERS. “It gives the driver [doctor] access nationwide, guarantee issue, no underwriting, and easy enrollment. Our advocacy department also offers a comprehensive level of patient services and support.”

All of this is critical to solo drivers, said Lindsay, because healthcare costs are going in just one direction in the future: up.

AHRQ’s study found that hospital care accounted for 30% of all healthcare spending in 2004, with physician services rising to 21%. Because hospitals and doctors represent such a big share of the healthcare marketplace, price increases for their services drive most of the overall rise in costs, he said.

As a result, insurance premiums increased by 8.6% last year, with the cost of family coverage approaching $11,000 a year and consumers’ out-of-pocket spending growing by 5.5%, AHRQ found.

“The industry is projecting an 8% to 12% increase in insurance premiums over the next five years and this trend is expected to continue,” USNow’s Lindsay noted.