Goal: To examine the conditions that might lead employers to offload the provision of health benefits.
Issue: Employer-sponsored health benefits have
persisted despite recent policy changes and broader trends, such as the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), private health exchanges, and health care
cost inflation. However, new policy initiatives, such as the extension
of ACA subsidies and the provision of a public option, may cause
companies to reconsider their practice of offering health benefits to
their workers.
Methods: We conducted interviews with more than
two dozen benefits executives working in a variety of industries and
representing firms that employ from 300 to 250,000 employees.
Key Findings and Conclusion: Employers often view
themselves as paternalistic: they wish to make it easier for their
workers to get affordable health coverage. They also do not want to
relinquish control over health plans, viewing health benefits as a
valuable recruitment and retention tool. Accordingly, the benefits
executives we interviewed found it difficult to imagine future
circumstances that would lead their companies to stop providing health
coverage.
What Employers Say About the Future of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
What Employers Say About the Future of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
