Why Did Employer Premiums Go Up?
I work for a company that employs about 300 employees. We had good health insurance coverage. My employer cares about his employees and provides everything he can for them. This year because of the ACA our healthcare costs increased 33% for slightly less coverage. It was stated that we have what is considered a Cadillac plan and will need to either reduce cost/coverage or have a huge increase in 2018 when additional taxes kick in. There are 300 employees that are wondering “What is so affordable about this Care Act”?
Is reform of the program going to be made to protect employers that care about there employees and provide the best they can? We are not CEO’s making millions…we are the middle class.
Answer
Smaller firms get tax credits that mean better employee benefits at better prices. However, some larger firms who had great plans going into 2014 saw rate hikes. And of course then in 2018 we have the cadillac tax for high end health plans. The end result is that many firms, employers, and employees see better coverage costing less money. Some firms, employers, and employees see less coverage for more.
That was a cause and effect of both the rising cost of healthcare and the new benefits, rights, and protections of the ACA. It also has to do with "how good of a deal" the employer got when buying health insurance. Generally the larger the employer, the better the deal. This is less true moving into 2014, the market is more equal, and for those getting a better deal before that isn't all good news.
Despite all of this growth in employer healthcare costs are down as a whole on average for the nation. So it's helping on average as a whole, but that doesn't always translate to personal experince. Still thank your employer for doing their part to ensure that America has access to healthcare.