Details about enrollment in the Affordable Care Act-created health exchanges have hogged headlines for months.
But a majority of working Americans buy their health insurance policies through an employer. Mercer, a research and consulting firm, surveyed hundreds of businesses after their open enrollment seasons ended to dig up some details about what’s happening with employer-sponsored health plans this year.
The survey included responses from 723 businesses ranging in size from fewer than 500 employees to more than 5,000 employees. The survey was conducted in January and Mercer’s report was released Wednesday.
Among the most significant findings was that many employers took advantage of a delay to a key rule in the Affordable Care Act. Beginning in 2014, employers were supposed to begin offering insurance to employees who work at least 30 hours a week. The federal government delayed the provision until 2015. Mercer’s study showed that about 40 percent of respondents needed to update their policies to comply with this new rule, but that only 10 percent of them made the change in 2015. Just about 60 percent of respondents said they were already in compliance with the regulation before 2014.
Read the full report here.
Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.