Few people would argue that one of the best outcomes from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is that more people are insured. At 12.9 percent, the uninsured rate is down from 17 percent one year ago, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Not only has the ACA affected consumers, but it's had a logistical impact on employers who offer employee benefits as well, based on a recent study done by United Benefit Advisors.
One of the biggest influences the ACA has had on employers and the benefits they offer is when plan years start, LifeHealthPro reported. UBA analysts found that the number of participating employers whose plan years begin Dec. 1 has quintupled. Plan years for health insurance policies traditionally start on Jan. 1. Analysts attribute the renewal date change to employers wanting to avoid the immediate effects of the health care law's rules, which go into effect on the first of the year.
Another potential side effect of the health care law is that wellness program use has diminished. Of the nearly 10,000 employers examined in the survey, UBA researchers found that only 8 percent of employers with a workforce of 25 people or less offered one, LifeHealthPro reported. That's down from 9.3 percent in 2013. UBA researchers said that what may account for this is that there have been a number of federal regulatory actions that discourage the use of some wellness programs over others.
Waiting period rules for group coverage have also changed, the report found. The health care law says that group coverage complying with the tenets of the ACA must have a waiting period of no more than 90 days. Perhaps because of this, the number of plans moving to that period has increased 52 percent. Meanwhile, employer-based plans with waiting periods longer than 90 days has dropped 64 percent, LifeHealthPro reported.
Half say employer-based plans aren't changing, separate report says
Roughly 51 percent of the employed population says that their workplace doesn't intend to make any major changes to their health insurance options in 2015, based on a separate report from the Transamerica Center for Health Studies. Of the changes that have been done, the most common include expansion of plan options and reducing or eliminating what contributions companies make to paying for the cost of employee premiums. Roughly 1 in 5 people employed by a company with 500 workers or more expects their workplace to reduce or eliminate contributions in 2015.
While the UBA study found that wellness program use has dropped – particularly among small businesses – employed Americans are still largely interested in them. The TCHS study found that preventive screenings, exercise programs and healthy food options garnered the most interest among Americans whose employers made wellness initiatives available.
Other programs that generated interest included smoking cessation, tests for certain health risks, ergonomic workstations, on-site health clinics, medication adherence as well as "lunchtime lectures" on healthy behaviors.
