Healthcare Key Findings – July/August 2010
| Affluents’ Financial Concerns About Retirement | ||
| Women Seeking Health Advice Online | ||
| Hispanics and Herbal Remedy Traditions | ||
| Employers Seek Ways to Trim Healthcare Costs | ||
Affluents’ Financial Concerns
About Retirement
A slight majority of retired affluent Americans (51%) – those with investable assets of at least $250,000 – say they would have focused more on their life goals and less on amassing a specific dollar amount for their nest egg if they could go through their working years all over again.
Almost one-third (31%) worked with a financial adviser when planning their retirement. Of these, 55% say they wished they had started working with their financial adviser sooner than they did.
Financial Concerns About Retirement, Affluent Retirees vs. Affluent Non-retired, 2009
Women Seeking Health Advice Online
Women are twice as likely to seek help online (62%) as to ask their mothers (32%) for advice about non-serious health issues. Most (82%) say they are uncomfortable discussing health concerns or questions with friends or family members, and 59% report it is embarrassing to talk about health problems with people they know.
More than one-half of women (53%) have discussed a health question with an online community, with 30% of these saying this kind of support helps them prepare for the doctor’s visit.
Hispanics and Herbal Remedy Traditions
According to AARP Viva, 62% of Hispanics ages 45 and older use herbal remedies or supplements, and 55% plan to pass on this cultural tradition to their children.
More than four in 10 Hispanics in this age group (42%) use supplements at least once per month, with 16% using them daily. Interestingly, 70% of those who take supplements are not discussing this with their doctor.
Employers Seek Ways to Trim
Healthcare Costs
Employers are planning various strategies to trim their healthcare costs while simultaneously maintaining a competitive health benefits package.
In the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2010 employee benefits report, 72% of the 534 HR professionals surveyed said that the benefits offerings at their organization have been affected in some way over the past year. In total, the average cost for health care per employee was $7,038 in 2009. Larger organizations spend $8,026 per employee compared with $6,706 and $6,775 for small and midsized organizations.
The Hewitt research shows that total health care costs (including employer cost, employee payroll contributions and employee out-of-pocket expenses) have skyrocketed in a decade, from $4,793 in 2001 to $11,058 in 2010. And, they are expected to continue increasing by 9 percent in 2011, which is 0.5 percent slower than the 2010 growth rate, per a recent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP.
The PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey lists these changes that employers intend to make to their benefit plans next year:
- 67% intend to expand or improve wellness programs
- 42% plan to increase employee contributions for health
- 41% expect to increase medical cost-sharing (including higher deductibles and co-pays); and
- 26% intend to increase prescription drug cost-sharing
Bullets
- Only 8% of people “always” read the product labels on cleaning products to be sure they are using them correctly and are aware of any harmful chemicals.
- Some 77% of Americans say they would like food products to come with labels that warn them of high calories or low nutrients, and 64% think they would stop eating or eat less of their favorite foods if they came with these warning labels.
- One in six dog owners (17%) has an electronic tracking device implanted in their dog.