One in 10 employers plans to drop health benefits, study finds
By Elise Viebeck - 07/24/12 09:48 AM ET
About one in 10 employers plans to end workers' health insurance
as the new healthcare law takes effect, according to a new
study.
The finding could bolster opponents of the law, who argue that
its changes to the healthcare system will force workers out of
insurance plans they like. Supporters of the law say most people
will keep their current coverage.
Surveying 560 U.S.
companies, consulting firm Deloitte found that 9 percent of
employers are planning to drop employee health benefits within three
years. Eighty-one percent said they would continue covering
employees, and 10 percent said they were not sure.
The study was conducted between
February and April, before the Supreme Court ruled to uphold most of
the healthcare law. Deloitte said it does not believe the decision
would change companies' responses.
The law includes a
provision requiring people to carry health insurance or pay a fine,
and seeks to make it easier for Americans to find and afford
coverage outside of their employers.
The study found that
smaller firms were most likely to say they will drop coverage.
Thirteen percent of companies with 50 to 100 workers said they would
end policies within three years, compared with 2 percent of
companies with more than 1,000 workers.
The businesses
surveyed were not identified.
A spokeswoman for the
Department of Health and Human Services said the Massachusetts law
that inspired the federal healthcare overhaul led to an increase in
the number of people insured through their employers.
"This
law will decrease costs, strengthen our businesses and make it
easier for employers to provide coverage to their workers," Erin
Shields Britt told
The Wall Street Journal.
Several other estimates have
predicted that fewer people will receive healthcare through their
employers after the healthcare law takes effect. In March, for
example, congressional auditors pegged the figure at 3 and 5 million
people each year from 2019 to 2022.
The Congressional Budget Office added that
most employers "will continue to have an economic incentive to offer
health insurance to their employees."
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