ObamaCare has changed Health Plans quite a bit from what we are used to previously. One of the major changes is the way they price plans. It used to be that the age of the employee in the company was how the rating was based. Well, it still is rated on their age…for them only. The age of the spouse is factored in and so are the first 3 children. If the children are over 18, they are rated like an adult of that age. For the Brauer Insurance agency, I have a Kaiser family plan, myself, my wife and 3 kids. The price for my 2013 plan is $1150 a month. With the new pricing, it will jump to almost $1800 a month, a $650 a month increase! Insurance companies are doing this to offset the cost increase for them for all of the mandates and compliance issues they have to deal with. They’ll never tell you that, but that’s the truth.
Employers are sometimes getting priced out of the market
If you have a fairly large employee population and suddenly there is an increase of 35% or in some cases as high as 100%, someone has to pick that up. You only have a few choices. Either the employer pays the increase, the employee pays more for their portion, they split it between the employer and employee, or they drop coverage all together. ObamaCare is absolutely changing not only Health Plans in CA, but the way employers view those Health Plans and if they want to still be in the business of helping employees with their Healthcare.
Employers who offer Group Health Plans or Employee Benefits to their employees
Most companies are finding creative ways to keep their Employee Benefits for their employees for a couple of reasons. The most common reason is that they want to attract and retain good people by offering them an Employee Benefit that the employee finds attractive. Secondly, its a win-win for the employee and employer. The employee gets to pay for their Group Health Plan and Employee Benefits with tax free money and have a much bigger selection with an employer based plan. The employer wins with tax credits and having his FICA and Workers Comp rates lowered. Crazy times right now with ObamaCare and the way it has changed the landscape of Health Plans in CA