Despite cost increases, a vast majority of U.S. employers plan to retain their role as the purchasers of health care benefits for employees, according to the sixth annual Watson Wyatt/ Washington Business Group on Health (WBGH) and Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) Purchasing Value in Health Care report.

The survey reports that a majority of employers intend to remain highly involved in health benefits activities three years from now. In fact, more than 75 percent say they will continue to manage health plan design and vendor selection and management, while more than 65 percent will remain involved in pricing options and providing information to employees about plan choices.

A majority of employers plan to rely more on web technologies as part of their health care benefits strategy, according to the survey. Eight in 10 employers will make greater use of the Internet to administer benefits and distribute health care information.

The survey also identified a 10.3 increase in overall health care costs for 2001. Prescription drug benefits increased the most-14.6 percent. To combat rising costs, seven out of 10 employers will increase employee premiums, while half will increase employee co-payments. A total of 360 employers covering 4.7 million full-time employees participated in the survey.