As the next open enrollment period for the insurance exchanges moves progressively closer, business owners have a decision to make about whether they want to continue offering the employee benefits currently in place, or switching over to the federal and state marketplaces. The answer to that question likely depends on a variety of factors, such as how many people they employ, the types of coverage workers now get and whether making a move will lower costs without compromising quality.
But if you talk to small business owners who've made the switch, few are saying that their premiums are more affordable as a result, based on newly released polling data.
Only 1 in 5 say costs have gone down
In a survey of approximately 1,500 company managers, slightly more than half – 51 percent – indicated that their business didn't have better, more inexpensive coverage under the Affordable Care Act, according to Newtek Business Services. Less than 20 percent said the opposite – that their health costs were now cheaper with the ACA in place, without adversely affecting quality.
Barry Sloane, chairman, president and CEO for Newtek, indicated that these results will likely justify the sentiments many business owners have had about health care reform and whether it's a good thing.
"This poll substantiates the concern that small business owners believe the Affordable Care Act will become a drain on their business and their employees, without any offsetting benefit in improved health care cost to their employees," said Sloane. "Only 19 percent of [respondents] believe their company received health care that is both more affordable and better under the Affordable Care Act, while over 80 percent were either unsure or said they did not receive more affordable care."
He added that small business owners are for now immune to the coverage mandate. However, the fact that so many managers haven't seen savings under the ACA bodes poorly for how employers will feel about the law in the future, not to mention the state of health care.
"In the near term, the promise of more affordable care from the Affordable Care Act has not yet materialized," said Sloane. "Hopefully the government and the health insurance providers will take the necessary steps to decrease health care costs, increase choice and improve services to independent business owners and their employees."
Report: U.S. health care in last place among 11 nations
Despite being the most expensive health care system in the world – representing approximately 1/6th of the nation's economy – the state of health care in the U.S. ranks at the bottom of 11 nations examined, according to a recent report from The Commonwealth Fund.
"In the subcategories, the U.S. ranks higher on preventive care, and is strong on waiting times for specialist care, but weak on access to needed services and ability to obtain prompt attention from primary care physicians," the report stated.
The best health care system in the world, according to the report, is the United Kingdom's, evidenced by high accessibility to doctors, better health outcomes, efficiency and expenditures. Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and Germany round out the top five.
