If a Mercer webcast today is any sign, employers (over 5,000 of them who logged in) are scratching their heads to figure out what they need to do to comply with the new health bill.
Mercer consultants said their offices are flooded with questions. How will the bill affect health costs, a chief concern of businesses that have seen their bills for insuring their workers rise at a steady clip in recent years? Other themes seemed to be how much flexibility benefit managers would have in the future to design plans and what would administrative staffs need to do to make sure plans followed the new rules.
The message from Mercer: Hang tight, wait for regulations and communicate to employees. Longer term, administrative challenges start to rear their ugly heads: In 2011, for instance, employers will have to start including the aggregate cost of health benefits on an employees W2 form, and health savings accounts won’t be able to reimburse for over-the-counter medications. In 2014, of course, new standards for plans will go into effect and there will be a ban on annual limits for coverage — keeping corporate benefit managers plenty busy.
Meanwhile, employer groups were fighting a requirement that they provide health coverage to their employees to the bitter end. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Senators yesterday to support an amendment in the Senate that would strike the employer mandate from the reconciliation bill. (And for more on what specifically small businesses are thinking, read today’s WSJ.)
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