News You Can Use: New info source on health care reform gives employers knowledge, power

With lawmakers speeding toward completion of massive health care reform legislation, employers could make another full-time job out of keeping up with the latest developments.

To help you stay up-to-date, the Campaign for an American Solution, www.americanhealthsolution.org, aims "to build support for workable health care reform" and keeps track of everything from daily reform headlines to the latest in new proposals. The site also features an explanation of where the average American’s health insurance dollars usually go. Miller & Chevalier and the American Benefits Council, which finds that many employers want the government to concentrate more on cost and service quality for the new health care plan, and some even believe that some of these new proposals could do more harm than good.

Employers will want to keep a finger on the pulse of the debate so they can make their voices known to lawmakers, just like they did in a recent survey by

Some important findings:

* Three-quarters of respondents say that their company would immediately reduce or cease offering retiree health coverage if reform legislation prevented employers from modifying retiree health care benefits in the future.

* Respondents overwhelmingly point to improvements in health care quality, such as reporting of quality outcomes and wellness or chronic care programs, as the areas that could have the most positive impact on their workforce.

* 89% think employees would prefer to receive health insurance through employers even if similarly priced options were available through other sources.