Study: Employers Unprepared for 2014 Healthcare Reform

By CnAgri Print

Many U.S. employers have avoided planning their response to the Health Care Reform Act, first ahead of the Supreme Court ruling this past summer and then in anticipation of the fall election, according to Health Care Reform 360, a multi-wave, national study by Market Strategies International, Livonia, Mich. Now that these obstacles have been removed, these employers only have until September 2013 to learn about their options, decide whether or not to offer coverage and shop for a benefits plan in order to have enough time to select a plan and get employees enrolled by January 2014, when the law will be fully implemented.

"Six in ten employers were waiting on the outcome of the presidential and congressional races before making any major plans on how to respond to the law," said Susan McIntyre, senior vice president of the healthcare division of Market Strategies. "This finding is consistent among all employers whether they currently offer coverage to employees or do not."

Further, 60% of employers that do not currently offer coverage have taken no steps to prepare for reform. Among those that have taken steps to prepare, self-education and research is the dominant activity with about three in ten employers relying on general Internet searches and government web sites for information.

"Employers are no more familiar with the law now than they were when it was first enacted in 2010 (65% familiar in 2010 vs. 61% in 2012)," added McIntyre. "There is a real opportunity for health insurance companies and employee benefits brokers, consultants and agents to step in to fill this information and preparation gap, especially now that the clock is really ticking."

The Health Care Reform 360 study offers additional significant insight into employers' plans for health care coverage as well as current levels of familiarity with the law, information sources, reliance on health insurers, health insurance exchanges and the brokerage community, attitudes and concerns. Results of the study are compared against results to the first wave of the study conducted in fall 2010. The study also includes a segmentation of US firms on various aspects of coverage intentions and Health Care Reform.