Health care costs for U.S. employers are likely increasing by 6 percent this year over last, according to a survey in health care trends (pdf) released earlier this year by global consulting firm Towers Perrin.

The survey also found that employers continue exploring account-based health plans, such as HSAs, to control rising medical care costs. Approximately half (46 percent) of survey's respondents had account-based health plans in place in 2007 and a further 7 percent plan to implement them in 2008.

An overwhelming majority of employers (84 percent) surveyed disagreed that the U.S. should have an exclusively government-run system. At the same time, more than 60 percent anticipate major federal health care reforms during the next two presidential terms.

Roughly three-quarters of respondents view the states as drivers of change and expect that over half of the state legislatures will enact significant reforms within the next decade.