Print edition: 
The cost of health benefits increased 5.5 percent in 2009, the lowest increase in a decade, according to Mercer's 2009 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, released today.
The report said the increase in Kansas was 4.6 percent.
The increase in Kansas was the second lowest increase of any state, the report said, and costs in Kansas remain among the lowest 10 states.
The average per-employee cost of health benefits in 2009 was $8,945, Mercer said. The 5.5 percent increase followed four years of increases of just over 6 percent.
Employers responding to the National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans predicted that medical plan costs would rise by about 9 percent in 2010 if they didn't make changes to their current plans. They hope to hold that to 6 percent by making changes to plan design or changing plan vendors.
For more on this story, return to Kansas.com and see Thursday's Eagle.
