The Voluntary Benefits Magazine, Corporate Wellness Magazine, Self Funding Magazine, and Healthcare Reform Magazine, in partnership with the Employer Healthcare Congress, traveled in June to one of the largest employer conferences in the country and conducted a survey of hundreds of top HR professionals nationwide.
The Survey touched upon Voluntary Benefits, Corporate Wellness, Self Funding, and Healthcare Reform. Of the employers participating in the survey 46% had up to 1,000 lives, 35% had between 1,000 to 10,000 lives, and 19% had over 10,000 lives. The Survey Results Found that:
Corporate Wellness
57% of respondents currently offer a Wellness Program, while 43% do not.
Voluntary Benefits
81% currently offer Voluntary Benefits to their employees, while 19% do not.
Self Funding
62% of respondents stated they self fund their medical plan, while 38% said they do not.
Healthcare Reform - Will it Increase Costs?
- An overall 76% felt healthcare costs would increase under healthcare reform; 57% of respondents felt that Healthcare Reform will significantly increase health insurance costs, while 11% felt it would lower healthcare costs. 19% felt it would just "increase" healthcare costs, but not significantly and 13% felt healthcare costs would remain the same.
Healthcare Reform - Will it be Positive or Negative for Business?
- 57% of respondents felt Healthcare Reform negatively affects their business while 43% believe it positively affects their business.
Healthcare Reform - Fine/Penalty for not buying insurance in 2014
65% of respondents felt that the $95 a year penalty for individuals who don't buy health insurance in 2014 (increasing to $695 in 2016), is a large enough incentive to force people to buy health insurance. 35% of respondents felt it was not a large enough incentive to force people to buy health insurance.
Healthcare Reform - Destroying the Underwriting Process by Allowing Guarantee Issue and No Pre-ex in 2014
76% of respondents felt that starting in 2014, allowing any person to wait until they are sick to purchase health insurance and have immediate guaranteed coverage at the same price as a healthy person, would destroy the underwriting process, while 24% felt it would not.
Online Healthcare Information
78% of respondents felt that internet news, resource websites and social media are one of the most important sources for gathering information on healthcare issues, while 22% disagreed.
