Hospital Employee Benefits Benchmarks

What hospital employers actually offer across medical, ancillary, leave, and retirement, benchmarked against the wider market.

82% run a consolidated leave plan
92% allow sick leave to carry over

Hospitals buy depth, not breadth

Hospitals recruit clinical staff against competitors who can match salary, and hold them in a market where experienced people have options. What distinguishes one offer from another is usually the depth of the benefit package rather than the number of lines in it, and hospital staff are unusually well placed to tell the difference.

1. Medical

What medical benefits do hospital employers typically offer?

A hospital workforce reads a benefits summary differently than most. Clinical staff know what a deductible actually costs at the point of care, and a good number of them will use the plan inside the system that employs them. That makes medical design the most scrutinized part of a hospital's offer.

83%
Employer share, single
Against 81% across all industries
74%
Employer share, family
Against 69% across all industries
57%
Offer an HSA
Against 40% across all industries

How this industry compares on medical

Mployer benchmark data for this industry against the market, with the unlabelled bars showing how far the figure moves across employer size.

Axis truncated. The floor is shown on the scale. Cohort low and high are drawn but not labelled.

Industry medical measureBenchmark
Medical care benefit availability by size cohortSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Average monthly employer premium, single coverageSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Average monthly employer premium, family coverageSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Median monthly employee contribution, single and familySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Average deductible by plan type: PPO, HMO, POS, HDHPSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Maximum out of pocket by plan typeSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Enrollment mix across PPO, HMO, POS, and HDHPSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Funding split: fully insured, level funded, self fundedSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Average employer HSA and HRA contributionSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Section 125 healthcare and dependent care FSA availabilitySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Waiting period distribution for new hiresSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Medical plan participation rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All

These figures are available for this industry across all 50 states and 7 size cohorts inside Mployer Insights+.

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2. Ancillary

What ancillary benefits do hospital employers offer?

Ancillary lines in a hospital are used heavily and assessed by people who understand exactly what they are looking at. There is very little room for a plan that reads well and performs poorly.

68%
Offer dental
Against 71% across all industries
86%
Offer vision
Against 89% across all industries
67%
Offer short-term disability
Against 69% across all industries

How this industry compares on ancillary

Mployer benchmark data for this industry against the market, with the unlabelled bars showing how far the figure moves across employer size.

Axis truncated. The floor is shown on the scale. Cohort low and high are drawn but not labelled.

Industry ancillary measureBenchmark
Employer contribution share for dental, single and familySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Employer contribution share for vision, single and familySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Average total monthly dental and vision premiumSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Short-term disability offer rate and benefit designSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Long-term disability offer rate and maximum monthly benefitSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Basic life benefit multiple and flat dollar medianSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Share of plans where life is fully employer paidSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Voluntary life offer rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Critical illness and accident offer ratesSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Long-term care insurance offer rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All

These figures are available for this industry across all 50 states and 7 size cohorts inside Mployer Insights+.

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3. Leave

What is the typical paid leave structure for hospital employers?

Leave in a facility that runs continuously depends entirely on whether the staffing model can absorb an absence. A policy that cannot be exercised on a short-staffed unit is not a benefit.

82%
Consolidated leave plan
Against 46% across all industries
67%
Offer paid family leave
Against 67% across all industries
92%
Sick leave carries over
Against 65% across all industries

How this industry compares on leave

Mployer benchmark data for this industry against the market, with the unlabelled bars showing how far the figure moves across employer size.

Axis truncated. The floor is shown on the scale. Cohort low and high are drawn but not labelled.

Industry leave measureBenchmark
Consolidated plan accrual at 1, 5, 10, and 20 years of serviceSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Non-consolidated vacation accrual by tenureSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Paid holidays offer rate and median daysSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Paid sick leave offer rate and median daysSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Sick leave carryover treatmentSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Unpaid family leave offer rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Paid personal leave offer rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Funeral, jury duty, and military leave offer ratesSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All

These figures are available for this industry across all 50 states and 7 size cohorts inside Mployer Insights+.

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4. Retirement

What is the typical retirement plan structure for hospital employers?

Retirement is where hospitals have historically been strong, and clinical staff planning a full career weigh it heavily against systems that have moved away from richer provision.

88%
Offer a defined contribution plan
Against 64% across all industries
17%
Vest immediately
Against 36% across all industries
44%
Offer auto enrollment
Against 42% across all industries

How this industry compares on retirement

Mployer benchmark data for this industry against the market, with the unlabelled bars showing how far the figure moves across employer size.

Axis truncated. The floor is shown on the scale. Cohort low and high are drawn but not labelled.

Industry retirement measureBenchmark
Median and percentile employer contribution ratesSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Automatic enrollment availability and default rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Automatic escalation availabilitySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Vesting schedule distributionSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Minimum age and service eligibility requirementsSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Plan loan and in-service withdrawal availabilitySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Defined contribution participation rateSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Retiree healthcare availability before and after age 65See 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All

These figures are available for this industry across all 50 states and 7 size cohorts inside Mployer Insights+.

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5. Additional optimizations

What additional plan design optimizations are available to hospital employers?

Optimization work in hospitals concentrates on mental health provision, on flexible scheduling for clinical staff, and on the retiree healthcare terms that shape late career decisions.

Industry additional optimization measureBenchmark
Waiting period distribution: none, 30, 60, and 90 or more daysSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Fertility medication, IUI, and IVF coverage ratesSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Cryopreservation and adoption assistance ratesSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Mental health resource expansion in the past yearSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Telehealth and in-person provider additionsSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Wellness programs: coaching, weight management, biometric screeningSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
GLP-1 coverage and preauthorization requirementsSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Remote and hybrid work availabilitySee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All
Retiree healthcare availability, under 65 and 65 plusSee 50 State DetailSee 7 Size Cohort DetailSee All

These figures are available for this industry across all 50 states and 7 size cohorts inside Mployer Insights+.

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FAQ

Questions hospital CFOs and HR leaders ask most

How much of the medical premium do hospital employers pay?
Mployer benchmark data shows hospital employers cover 83% of the single coverage premium and 74% of the family coverage premium, against all-industry figures of 81% and 69%. On family coverage hospitals sit above the market.
Do hospital employers offer a health savings account?
Mployer benchmark data shows 57% of hospital employers offer a health savings account, against 40% across all industries. That places the sector well above the market on tax-advantaged medical saving.
How do hospital ancillary benefits compare to other industries?
Mployer benchmark data shows dental at 68% against an all-industry 71%, vision at 86% against 89%, and short-term disability at 67% against 69%. Dental and vision vary little between industries, so short-term disability is where hospital employers separate from the market.
How much paid time off do hospital employers provide?
Mployer benchmark data shows 82% of hospital employers run paid time off through a consolidated leave plan rather than separate vacation and sick banks, against 46% across all industries. Sick leave carries over at 92%, against 65% across all industries, and paid family leave sits at 67%, matching the 67% all-industry rate.
What retirement plan do hospital employers typically offer?
Mployer benchmark data shows 88% of hospital employers offer a defined contribution plan, against 64% across all industries, with automatic enrollment available in 44% of plans. Immediate vesting of employer contributions runs at 17%, against 36% across all industries.

Related benchmarks

Evaluate other parts of the market

Figures on this page are drawn from Mployer benchmark data, all region and all size averages unless stated otherwise, and are rounded to the nearest whole point. Values shown in the tables are available inside Mployer Insights+. Read the full benchmarking methodology.

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