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Dayton Business Journal...
Report: A third of
employers may drop health benefits
by DBJ Staff
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Nearly a third of employers may drop health benefits come 2014,
according to a new report from McKinsey Quarterly.
The report shows how employer-sponsored health benefits may be impacted
by the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Many of the law’s relevant provisions take effect in 2014.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated just 7 percent of employees
would be forced into subsidized-exchange policies. However, the survey
of more than 1,300 employers suggests that 30 percent of employers said
they would “definitely or probably” drop health insurance policies.
Other findings in the report include:
• At least 30 percent of employers would gain economically from
dropping coverage, and
• More than 85 percent of employees would remain at their jobs even
without health benefits, although about 60 percent would expect more
pay.
Small business owners are worried about the rising health care costs
and the price of implementing new reform rules. Many Republicans in
Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner of Butler County, are
against the law and want to change or repeal it.
Regardless of what happens, there are many large companies that have a
big stake in whether the law is repealed, changed or kept as was passed.
UnitedHealthcare parent UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) — which has
a regional headquarters in West Chester that serves both Dayton and
Cincinnati — and Anthem parent WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) are among
those that have already started implementing some aspects of the reform.
Other large companies that could be affected include drug makers
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE),
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Merck &
Company (NYSE: MRK) and Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), which is based
in Indianapolis.
Both Bayer AG and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) have operations in
Ohio, while many of the drugmakers employ sales reps throughout the
Dayton region.
Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal
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