HEALTH CARE

Health Costs Swell: Health care costs to Southern California employers rose 10.6% in 1991, somewhat more slowly than the national average of 13%, according to a study. Southern California employers paid $3,964 per employee for indemnity insurance, well above the national average of $3,573, but the prevalence of managed care here helped stem the rate of increase, according to the study by Foster Higgins, a benefits consulting firm. The survey did not examine HMO plans, which are more popular in California than elsewhere. Corporate health care costs now account for 45% of net earnings, Foster Higgins said.