Thursday, August 14, 2014

Large Employers Reducing Benefits And Raising Employees Contributions Toward Health Insurance


                    By Coleen Elkins


Employees are beginning to take notice to the changes in their benefits especially those working for large employers. Employers such as hotels and restaurants are taking steps to reduce costs for themselves and shifting more cost to the employees. The only way they can manage this is is to reduce benefits by offering plans that raise deductibles and out of pocket expenses. The employers are offering two-tiered benefit levels. One very expensive benefit rich plan much like they have always offered in the past and an alternative lower benefit "skinny plan".   

Four years from now an employer that offers a plan to employees that costs more than $10,200 per employee will be accessed a forty percent tax. Knowing that is coming employers are preparing for a shift in benefits now. This tax is driving a big change for both employers and employees. 

Employers offering a plan that is ACA-compliant plan avoids tax penalties and disqualify the employees from getting subsidized benefits from a state or federal exchange. The Affordable Care says a plan offered by an employer is "affordable" if it costs the employee 9.5 percent or less of their income. 

The shift toward consumer directed health plans allows employees to build their own benefit package to meet their personal needs. These plans will be high deductible plans with variations of benefit structure. 


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