What you need to prepare for
No matter your company size, no matter your internal resources, this is not something you should attempt to understand on your own. Turn to your trade associations, your broker, a business development group, someone you trust who will be knowledgeable about the topic.
One reason is the health insurance industry expects premiums to increase in the coming years as cost shifting occurs prior to taxes really setting in.
“I started to look at the taxes that are going to come into place in 2013, and most of that is on the business owners themselves,” says Thomas Mangan, CEO of the Philadelphia brokerage and consulting firm Corporate Synergies Group Inc. “Heading into that, you’re going to have these high increases that, most likely, most small and medium businesses will (see) in the 12 to 14 percent range.”
For most companies, as you know, health insurance is one of the largest line items in the budget. Mangan suggests sitting down with your broker to discuss whether or not you can expect a significant increase in your premiums and what that ultimately means for your company. Premiums should go down once most of the law’s mandates are in place.
Health plans also will change because of certain regulations insurance companies face, such as eliminating discrimination against pre-existing conditions and no cost sharing for preventative services.
Much larger than your plan, this law could decide how many people businesses choose to employ.
“They’re going to keep a much closer eye on what their limits are once all of this falls out as far as what advantages might be out there for small businesses that have X amount of employees,” Rodriguez says.
Because there is so much uncertainty, because there are so many changes expected to take place that can affect your business, this is not something you can sit around and wait, watch how it plays out and then react.
“This is an opportunity for a smart business to become very proactive and have an advantage over those companies that do nothing,” Mangan says. “Those who don’t take action are going to end up getting hit much worse and it will reflect it in their price.”