Ninety percent of employers are developing tactics and taking steps to deal with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many are planning to modify their plans due to the ACA. Sixty-nine of employers say they will definitely continue providing employer-sponsored health care when health exchanges come online in 2014 compared to 46% who said they would in 2012, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Twenty-five percent say they are very likely to continue their employer-sponsored health care offering.
In response the ACA, 18% of employers have already increased participants’ share of plan premiums and 25% plan to do so over the next year. Twenty-five percent of employers that are planning to make changes are increasing their emphasis on high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with health savings accounts (HSAs) while an additional 14% are assessing the feasibility of adding doing so.
Employers are also encouraging healthy behavior in employees, with 19% developing or expanding organized wellness programs within the past year. Additionally, 14% of employers adopted or expanded the use of financial incentives to encourage healthier lifestyles within the past year, with another 25% planning to do so in the next year.
Julie Stich, research director for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans said, “More and more organizations are losing their grandfathered status, dropping from 45% in 2011 to 27% in 2013. Also many organizations are redesigning their plans to avoid the 2018 excise tax on high-cost or so called ‘Cadillac plans.’ In 2011, only one in 10 said they were redesigning their plan to avoid the additional tax, but we’ve seen a steady increase over the past two years that shows the number will soon double.” For more information, visit www.ifebp.org/ACA2013.
