How to Prepare for U.S. National Health Care Reform as an Employer

In March 2010, the 111th Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed into law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, later amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which together form the nexus of what is commonly referred to as national health care reform. The scope of this legislation is an ambitious effort to address perceived issues within the current health care system, with particular emphasis on increasing accessibility and affordability. National health care reform will impact employers in certain scheduled, deliberate ways, and employers must prepare to meet the challenges associated with this new landscape.

Instructions

• 1

  Prepare your human resources and/or benefits team to how their roles will evolve throughout the first few years of national health care implementation. The website HealthCare.gov outlines key areas that will impact employers (see Resources). Some organizations may find it helpful to assign each team member to a different core area of impact, with quarterly meetings to discuss updates in each respective area.

• 2

  Measure the impact of insurance reform on your business. Reforms having to do with insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs, quality, expansion of the health care workforce, tax changes, long-term care, medical malpractice and prevention/wellness services are among the many issues that will affect your organization. The delivery requirements of employee benefits will be drastically different for employers for years to come. For instance, your employees will be able to keep their adult children on their health care plans until the age of 26, starting in September 2010. The specific requirements of each impact area will be slowly phased in through 2018.

• 3

  Adjust your medical plans as required by the new laws. Prepare for your medical plan renewal rate to be on average 9 percent higher after trend and inflation due to health insurers passing their own health care reform costs on to their customers. Generally speaking, medical underwriters have been mandated guidelines as to how plan design and the corresponding rate structures should conform to make plans more inclusive and affordable to participants. The cost of conforming, however, will be reflected in your organization's medical plan costs. Some employers are looking to high-deductible health plans, oftentimes accompanied by a health savings account vehicle, to offset the rising renewal rates.

• 4

  Discuss your employee benefits challenges with a qualified employee benefits broker/consultant to ensure that you are in compliance with national health care reform guidelines. If you do not have a qualified employee benefits broker/consultant on staff, search online for national and regional consultant organizations, such as the New England Employee Benefits Council for recommendations in Massachusetts. Visit the HealthCare.gov website for information for employers about the new law. You may be eligible for tax credits and other programs.