Employers Consider Adjustments for PPACA Costs
The majority of U.S. employers (52%) said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will negatively impact their businesses, and only one in 10 employers feel their employees understand what the full impact of the health care reform will have on their businesses. In addition, almost one-third of employers feel the health care reform law will negatively influence their employees’ ability to afford health care over the next three to five years.
U.S. employers are considering eliminating non-medical benefits as a way to defray the increasing costs of medical care. Thirty-five percent of employers said they would consider eliminating accident insurance within three to five years due to health care reform, and 33% would consider eliminating critical illness insurance.
Twenty-eight percent of employers, each, cited accidental death and dismemberment insurance and long-term disability insurance as benefits they would consider eliminating. Twenty-seven percent chose vision care, 26% chose dental insurance, and one-quarter, each, said they would consider eliminating short-term disability insurance and life insurance.