With Affordable Care Act deadlines imminent in 2014 and 2015, employers are saying the increased effect of health care reform on various aspects of employee benefits, according to a Prudential survey. Vishal Jain of Prudential said, “The Affordable Care Act could…usher in a new …emphasis on voluntary benefits. More employers are utilizing them for recruiting and retaining talent and employees increasingly view them as a cost-effective way to protect their family’s financial future.” With a shifting benefit landscape, carriers are now focused on being a trusted resource for employers while offering a full spectrum of services such as enrollment communications, benefit education, record keeping, and administrative services,” Jain said.
The survey reveals the following about employers:
• 49% say they are extremely or very likely to make a high-deductible health plan their only health insurance option.
• 73% say the law is having an effect on benefit service and support and 69% say there is an effect on benefit communications.
The survey reveals the following about employees:
• They are increasingly confident that more Americans will be covered under the Affordable Care Act (43%, up 7% from 2012).
• An expanding number say fewer employers will offer health insurance (44%, a 13% increase from 2012), and 38% of those employees believe their employer will drop coverage.
• About one-third have heard of but know little about public or private exchanges.
For more information, visit http://www.news.prudential.com.
