The good news is 2012 saw the lowest increase in in health insurance costs for employers since 1997. That is certainly good news for employers. But the bad news is that this is largely the result of switching employees to lower cost plans. Almost certainly, bad news for employees. These finding are in a press release by Mercer , who conduct the National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. More details are in the press release and even more in the detailed report.

Here are a few more articles on this I’ve run across:

• thinkprogress.org: Large Employers Attempt To Lower Health Costs At The Expense Of Their Workers
• CNN: Health insurance premiums see smallest increase in 15 years
• CNBC: How Obamacare Is Changing Your Health Benefits
• thestreet.com: Employers Held Health Benefit Cost Growth To 4.1% In 2012, The Smallest Increase In 15 Years

Businessweek even suggests some employers may drop health-care coverage .

Since the trend among employers seems to be to lower costs and decrease benefits (or increase the employee’s share), I am wondering if our dependence on employer-provided health benefits as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) is such a good idea.