It’s inevitable. Health care costs are rising. But just how much are they rising? According to a recent study by Aon Consulting Worldwide, health insurance costs this year will rise more than 10 percent in 2009. While this is less of an increase than this year’s, it still affects companies' bottom lines.

Health insurance companies are raising their cost for several reasons. A growing aging population, prescription drugs and technology costs are just part of it. Another part is plan members’ need for services. But with different programs such as disease management and other wellness initiatives, costs are not rising as fast as they would without these preventive motions.

So what choices do employers have? As mentioned in the previous employee benefits blog post, many companies are taking action by revaluating what plans they offer. In the case of health insurance, it may mean offering employees an HMO instead of PPO, or a more basic HMO plan, or even a consumer driven health plan with lower premium costs.

With employee benefits costs going up, companies are revaluating what’s important, and making cuts and shifting costs as necessary. Usually this is limited to private companies, but with costs increasing at such a high percentage, especially medical and prescription drug costs, now organizations known for their great employee benefits are feeling the crunch.

Non-profits and governmental agencies, long known for their superior employee benefits, are starting to follow the example of private companies. They are looking to cut their benefits and pay a lesser percentage of premiums. Just today, Nevada announced they intend to cut domestic partner coverage, reduce benefits and increase employee-paid premiums.

With costs rising the way they are, how much of the burden will shift from employers to employees? Employee benefits are expensive. In Nevada, state costs amount to $626 a month for current employees and $410 a month for retired state employees.

For smaller businesses with a slim profit margin taking on this expense, this is not necessarily an affordable amount. By choosing a lower cost health plan like an HMO, having employees pick up a decent percentage of the premium and considering programs like a tax choice disability, you can help minimize your businesses employee benefits cost.