Health benefit costs will grow by nearly 4% in 2020, according to early results from the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.

The 1,511 U.S. employers responding reported the health benefits cost per employee is expected to jump 3.9% in 2020. 

“While this continues the trend of low single-digit increases that began in 2012, health benefit costs are still rising faster than overall inflation. And with the economy slowing, employers know they can’t afford to be complacent,” said Tracy Watts, Mercer’s lead staffer on U.S. health policy. 

Of those responding, 43% plan to raise deductibles or otherwise cut benefits to make ends meet, on the low end since the surveys started. If no changes were made, costs would go up 5%, down from the previous 8%.