As chief financial officers consider whether to continue offering employer-sponsored health insurance to workers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a recent analysis suggests their greatest concern is the impact employee benefits have on attracting and retaining talented employees.
When the Integrated Benefits Institute surveyed CFOs about the insurance mandate scheduled to go into effect in 2014, which will impose penalties on employers who choose not to offer their workers health coverage, many were also concerned about the impact on employee satisfaction. Productivity improvement through better managed medical treatment and the promotion of healthy behaviors were also major concerns. CFOs also noted that, if they ceased offering health benefits, some were looking at where else the firm might spend the savings.
"These concerns indicate that CFOs see medical coverage as a competitive necessity in managing human capital, rather than simply a cost to be minimized," said IBI president Thomas Parry.
He suggested that the results show C-suite executives see that medical coverage has important implications for human resource management and employee health and productivity, as they try to consider what course of action to take when legislative provisions take effect.
