Top 11 benefit trends of 2016

2016 has been a year of bold change, and minor adjustments. A raucous presidential election with a surprise winner now unsettles long-held notions of healthcare, regulation and public policy that will have a large impact in the workplace for years to come. Employee Benefit Adviser examines the trends that benefit professionals discussed and debated in the past year.

One of the heartiest applause lines from the campaign of GOP nominee Donald Trump was the repeal of Obamacare with “something better.” Following Trump’s win on Election Day, benefit experts and Republican politicians predicted the immediate demise of the Cadillac tax and other provisions of the health plan that has provided coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Almost immediately, President-elect Trump backtracked somewhat in an interview on 60 Minutes about eliminating the ACA outright. He plans to keep the clauses that cover pre-existing conditions and insured children up to the age of 26. As one broker told EBA, “The Republican response has to look as different from the ACA as it can, even though some portions were once Republican ideas, like the individual mandate.”