This year has seen a lot of news in healthcare coverage. First, of course, was the Supreme Court’s upholding of the health reform act, which provides for health insurance exchanges, where an online grab bag of policies will be available for residents to choose from. And, of course, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will now make health insurance available to the country’s 50 million uninsured
But big employers are making changes, too. Two are planning to give workers a lump sum for their health benefits and allowing them to choose their medical coverage and insurer from an online marketplace. Sears Holdings Corp. and Darden Restaurants Inc. say “the change isn't designed to make workers pay a higher share of health-coverage costs, but to help them maintain more control over their benefits.”
Others are choosing different ways to deal with the huge costs of health insurance for employees. Mike Sarafolean, head of a St. Paul, Minn.-based company, decided to send his workers to a "private exchange" or marketplace where they compare and choose their own insurance. Like Sears and Darden, the amount his company pays toward coverage is capped.
Appleby noted that it’s a win-win for employers. The exchanges also save employers money partly because workers, “when given a variety of choices, are likely to choose less generous benefit plans, which will carry lower premiums, say proponents.”
The average employer plan, done the old way, cost $15,745 – up four percent since a year ago. Ten years ago, it was eight percent. And even though the cost for insurance is growing more slowly than it has in a decade, it’s still outstripping wages.
Of course, if you are self-employed as I am, the costs all come out of your own pocket. And since I’ve had a major illness, I can’t exactly shop around – though the ACA now forbids insurers from refusing coverage to people like me with pre-existing conditions.
But I’m afraid to take my chances. And though I pay through the nose for my coverage, I still don’t want to be without it. So if you’re an employee with company-sponsored health insurance, be grateful for whatever the company pays! It’s a whole lot cheaper than paying it yourself.
Edited by
Brooke Neuman
