Client strategies

While 88% of small business owners do not think it is right for the government to force a state resident to buy health insurance, more than 90% of them do not intend on purchasing health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Like a lot of companies, Veridian Credit Union wants its employees to be healthier. In January, the Waterloo, Iowa-company rolled out a wellness program and voluntary screenings.

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the wake-up call our industry needed. On March 23, 2010, brokers woke up to realize that our livelihood could be wiped out with a swipe of the President’s pen. However, for far too long, many of us were reluctant to face the other threats that existed on traditional business practices. …

Offset the impact of health care reform on your bottom line by adapting well to the new environment.

Experience with the health insurance exchanges in Massachusetts and Utah suggest these reform mechanisms will retain a strong need for brokers to provide buyers with market education and guidance.

Despite concerns about the impact of rising health care costs on their businesses and employees, only one in six employers (16%) say they favor a federally funded universal health care system, according to the 2011 UBA Benefits Opinion Survey from United Benefit Advisors.

Unanswered questions and unknown repercussions abound as regulators continue to flesh out the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act framework. For employers, it is a frustrating time of uncertainty and confusion.

Despite efforts to defund PPACA in the Republican-controlled House, and prospects of a Supreme Court test for the federal health reform law, employers are forging ahead as best they can with short-term compliance issues and long-term strategic decisions.

Beginning in 2014 all employers with at least 50 employees must buy comprehensive heath insurance for all full-time employees or pay a penalty of $2,000 dollars per employee.