PERSONNEL MATTERS: opinions mixed on health reform

By Matt Dunning, Crain News Service

WASHINGTON (Feb. 5, 2015) — Fewer than 20 percent of U.S. employers expect their group health benefit plans to suffer as a result of healthcare reform, according to a survey released Feb. 4.

Only 19 percent of benefit managers and 17 percent of C-suite (top senior-level) executives said they believe implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will have an overall negative effect on the healthcare benefit plans they offer to their employees, according to Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA Inc.'s 2014 Employee Benefits Trends Survey.

Conversely, 41 percent of benefit managers and 47 percent of senior-level executives said they expect the reform law's overall effect on their companies' healthcare plans to be positive, while 40 percent of benefit managers and 37 percent of C-suite executives predicted the ACA's effects on their employees' health benefits will ultimately be neutral.

Respondents did express concerns about talent and productivity, and the possible effects of complying with new taxes, coverage rules and reporting requirements under the ACA, with 47 percent of benefit managers and 45 percent of C-suite executives saying they were somewhat or very concerned about the reform law's potential to frustrate their efforts to attract and retain top talent.

“As the benefits landscape continues to evolve, employers face challenges and opportunities as they adapt to new requirements,” Dan Gowen, Wells Fargo's national employee benefits practice leader in Chicago, said in a statement. “It's a balancing act for many companies as they look to maximize employee productivity, retention and morale while also controlling cost — a factor we expect to become even more important as companies prepare for the Affordable Care Act excise tax in 2018.”

For the next 12-18 months, a majority of employers said their company's top priority when it comes to their benefit programs will be maintaining their employees' productivity, while their top strategic goal for their benefits program for the next five years will be managing the overall cost of the healthcare benefits they offer.

The survey polled 950 benefit managers and senior executives in the summer last year.

This report appeared n the website of Crain's Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based sister publication of Tire Business.