Blame it on an economy still onthe mend or go so far as to credit Obamacare.

Either way, there's fresh evidence of a slowing in healthinflation in the latest survey of employers by Towers Watsonand the National Business Group for Health.

The survey also affirmed a trend abundantly familiar to agrowing number of working Americans: cost sharing ison the rise.

The cost of providing employer-sponsored health care benefits,according to the survey, is expected to increase 4.4% thisyear, climbing to $9,560 per employee compared to lastyear's $9,157.

That's a bigger jump between last year and2012 but not much of one. Employer health costs inthat period rose 4.1%, the lowest increase in 15 years.

The survey also found that the employees’ share of premiumsincreased nearly 7%, to $2,975, this year.

Out-of-pocket costs also increased. The total employee costshare has climbed from 34.4% in 2011 to 37% in 2014. Employees nowpay more than $100 more each month for health care compared withjust three years ago.

What’s driving these numbers? Reduced direct coverage, in mostcases.

As outlined by the results of a TW/NBGH survey, companies aregradually shedding the components of their health plans becauseeveryone else is doing it. The competitive advantage has swung tothose who have divested themselves first of the burdensome expenseof employee health coverage.

To be sure, this detailed survey of nearly 600 major U.S.companies offers evidence that plenty of employers (95% ofrespondents) will continue to view benefits packages that includehealth coverage as something worth retaining. But almost the samenumber — 92% — plan to make changes in the near-term to lessentheir coverage responsibility.

The big-picture trend cited by the data is one of the enterprisebacking away from health coverage as other options emerge.

Employers are banking on the one-two punch of private and publicexchanges to take over the task of providing affordable healthinsurance to current and former employees. While few employers arewilling to completely pull the plug on coverage, there are somewilling to do so. And, if the trends spotted by this surveycontinue, these leaders will be cited as the precedent by others tofollow in their footsteps in order to remain competitive.

“Despite the moderation, health care costs continue to outpaceinflation and remain a major concern for U.S. employers given thechallenging macroeconomic environment,” said Ron Fontanetta, seniorhealth care consultant for Towers Watson. “To find more effectiveways to manage health costs, many employers are focusing onreshaping their health strategy for the next three to fiveyears.”

Read more: Results that support the un-coveragereaction ...

Dependent coverage

• 49% of respondents said they increased employee contributionsfor dependent tiers at higher rates than for individuals. Another19% expect to make this move next year.
• 24% said they now use spousal surcharges of around $100 permonth when other coverage is available to the spouse.
• 70% believe offering subsidized coverage for spouses isimportant today. But for 2015 and beyond, only 56% believe thatsubsidized health care for spouses will be very important.

Employee cost-sharing

• Employees’ share of premiums increased nearly 7% this year. Thetotal employee cost share rose to 37% in 2014, up from 34.4% in2011.
• Employees now pay am additional $100 more each month for healthcare compared with just three years ago.
• Account-based health plans are the top item these days, withthree-quarters of respondents acknowledging that such programs areat least one component of their package. The most popular, thehealth savings account, is essentially managed by the company butfunded by the employee. In its crystalized form, theseemployee-owned plans shift both cost and responsibility to theindividual.
• Sixteen percent of respondents having adopted account plans astheir sole health insurance option for employees, with nearlyone-third of all companies indicating they may only offer theseplans in 2015.

Exchange options

• Two-thirds of companies believe that private exchanges willoffer a viable alternative to employer-sponsored coverage foractive employees as early as 2015. Many also view theprivate exchanges as the future coverage for theirretirees.
• Nearly two-thirds of employers that offer a sponsored plantoday for retirees say they plan to send all of theirpre-Medicare-age retiring workers to public exchanges.
• While the survey indicated that employer confidence in publicexchanges is still low, it revealed that respondents are carefullywatching the evolution of the exchanges as they weigh scrappingemployee health insurance and helping them find exchange coverage.
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  “Most employers are taking a wait-and-see approach to gaugewhether these models can deliver greater value for their activeemployees than self-managed programs,” said Helen Darling,president and CEO of the NBGH.

Read more: Economy responsible for slower growth...

While two in five respondents cited the Patient Protectionand Affordable Care Act as the primary driver of their health carestrategy, the slow growth in health spending can mostly beattributed to the economy.

• Between 2009 and 2011, government statistics show that healthspending jumped 3.9% every year, marking the slowest growth sincetracking began in 1960. The trend led to an average growth of 4.2%each year from 2008 to 2012. That was much lower than thegrowth of 8.8% between 2001 and 2003.
• Although the recession officially came to an end in 2009, manyexperts project slower-than-typical health care spending forseveral more years.
• The economy accounted for 77% of the reduced growth in healthspending, a Kaiser Family Foundation study last year found, whilethe other 23% was attributed to changes in the health care system,such as higher deductibles and other cost-sharing measures.
• The TW/NBSH survey was completed by 595 employers betweenNovember and January. Respondents collectively employ 11.3 millionfull-time employees, have 7.8 million employees enrolled in theirhealth care programs and represent all major industry sectors.