Highlights of the survey’s findings with respect to health care reform include:
- 72% of firms surveyed reported having at least one grandfathered plan (grandfathered plans that existed as of March 23, 2010 and have not made changes which significantly reduce benefits or increase out-of-pocket spending for employees may be exempt from certain Affordable Care Act requirements).
- A higher percentage of small firms (those with less than 200 workers) reported sponsoring a grandfathered plan than did larger firms.
- 19% of small firms and 70% of larger firms reported enrolling at least one adult child of an employee who would not have been eligible for plan coverage prior to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that plans extend dependent coverage to age 26 (grandfathered plans do not need to comply with this requirement for adult children who have another offer of employer-based coverage until 2014).
- Changes in cost-sharing for preventive services and the services that are considered preventive as a result of the new Affordable Care Act requirements were also reported and varied by firm size (these requirements do not apply to grandfathered plans).
- 29% of firms with fewer than 50 employees that offer health coverage reported attempting to determine eligibility for the small business health care tax credit.
- One-half of firms with fewer than 50 employees that do not currently offer coverage reported being aware of the tax credit, with 15% of those firms indicating they are considering providing health insurance due to the credit.
A total of 2,088 randomly selected, non-federal public and private firms with 3 or more employees responded to the full 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey. A wide range of industries is represented in the survey, including service, health care, manufacturing, retail, and finance. Survey data was collected between January and May of 2011.
More details and survey results are available from the Kaiser Family Foundation. You may also view the press release.