Multiemployer Health Plans Show Benefit Coverage Gaps Across Industries

A recent analysis of multiemployer health plans reveals significant gaps in certain benefit coverages despite many plans offering comprehensive packages. Approximately 61% of the 1,480 multiemployer plans surveyed in 2020 included dental, vision, and life insurance along with major medical coverage, while about 65% provided disability insurance.

However, notable portions of plans lacked key benefits: 12% were missing dental insurance, 18% lacked vision care, 26% did not offer life insurance, and 35% were without disability insurance. These benefit gaps varied considerably across industry sectors, with construction plans exhibiting a 14% absence rate for dental coverage compared to just 6% in the service industry, and disability insurance missing from 30% of construction plans but nearly half of plans in entertainment and other sectors.

The findings suggest that even larger multiemployer plans, which typically pool contributions from multiple employers under collective bargaining agreements, may have unseen vulnerabilities in benefit offerings.

This is particularly relevant for benefits advisors and insurers monitoring the comprehensiveness of such plans. Interpreting these gaps is complex because some employers may supplement multiemployer plan benefits with their own single-employer plans for certain coverages. The data analysis, based on Form 5500 filings submitted to the U.S. Labor Department from 2006 to 2020, also shows a decline in the number of multiemployer plans from 1,811 in 2006 to 1,480 in 2020, with active participant numbers holding steady around 4 million employees.

These insights highlight the importance of careful benefit plan design and monitoring in multiemployer arrangements to address coverage shortfalls, particularly for disability insurance.