Dive Brief:
- A survey by LIMRA, a global association of companies in insurance and financial services, shows that most employers polled (67%) expect the Affordable Care Act to be partially repealed, Employee Benefit News (EBN) reports. The December survey polled 1,400 companies.
- The survey found that, while only 9% of respondents anticipate no action on the ACA, 17% expect a total repeal of the health law, says EBN.
- The survey also found that 39% of companies said that that repealing the ACA wouldn’t affect their decisions on medical plan design and 43% said the repeal would moderately affect their overall benefit plans. Nearly half of the respondents (48%) said that the ACA’s total repeal would have little or no effect on their benefits package.
Dive Insight:
The Trump administration is leaving many employers uncertain about whether the ACA, overtime rule, fiduciary mandate and other employment laws will stand or be rescinded. Although Republican lawmakers took decisive steps to repeal the ACA just days into Trump’s presidency, it’s still unclear whether the law will be tweaked, amended or repealed. So far, the Republican majority has not announced a solid replacement plan.
Most interesting is the note that most employers won't change their benefits packages in response to ACA changes. The reporting burden may change, but many of the ACA's requirements for large employer plans were based on plans that employers already offered.