If Americans today purchase health insurance their own way rather than taking advantage of their employee benefits, they may want to consider changing plan providers before January 2014, based on the results of a recent study.
According to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago, more than 50 percent of private health benefits do not have coverages that satisfy what the government considers to be "essential benefits" as indicated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Based on the text of the bill, all health plans in 2014 must provide certain health services, such as mental healthcare, prescription medication provisions and medical treatment for women who are pregnant. But many individual health plans fail to measure up to these mandates.
"Together with a ban on medical underwriting, the individual market of the future will sharply contrast with the market of past decades," the researchers point out.
Conversely, among the employer group plans that were analyzed, researchers found that they tended to be more comprehensive and more frequently satisfied the essential benefits benchmark.
Recent polls have suggested that many of today's workers are concerned about their employee benefits. A Harris Interactive survey conducted in March showed that 56 percent of responding employees were worried about their coverage they got through work and how it could change in the years ahead.
