March 13,2012

Press Contact:

Julia Lawless, Antonia Ferrier, 202.224.4515

Fact Sheet: New Survey Confirms $2.6 Trillion Health Spending Law is Making it Worse for American Employers

President Obama famously promised during the debate over his $2.6 trillion health spending law that, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health plan," and that it would “slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.”  However, a major survey recently conducted by the Willis Human Capital Practice, that’s simply not the case.

After speaking with more than 2,300 small and large employers nationwide, the new survey found that the bureaucratic health spending law is making it worse, saying onerous, Washington-dictated mandates will drive up costs and ultimately threaten their employee’s current coverage of choice. 

Take a look at what this latest study found:

INCREASED COSTS FOR EMPLOYERS:
The Willis survey found, a majority of the employers who have quantified their compliance costs estimate increases of at least 2 percent to more than 5 percent to their health plan costs due to the health law.

HIGHER COSTS FOR EMPLOYERS:
The Willis survey found that nearly two-thirds of the employers will be forced to pass increased costs from the health law to their employees in form of higher premium contributions.

YOU CAN’T KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE: 
The Willis survey found that only 30 percent of the employers were able to maintain the grandfathered status of their health plans – 40 percent fewer than what the Administration promised in the “grandfathering” regulation.

LESS EMPLOYER INSURANCE:
The health law took more than $500 billion from the bankrupt Medicare program to finance a new entitlement program which will provide subsidies for families making as much as $90,000 in the new exchanges. The Willis survey found that due to the costs associated with the new law, employers - despite their desire to maintain their current health plans – will shift their focus to government-subsidized exchanges. 

This major survey is just more proof that the health spending law continues to erode the private health insurance system which provides quality coverage of choice to more than 160 million Americans. With every passing year, more and more Americans will continue to be pushed into government-run programs like Medicaid and tax-payer subsidized exchanges. 

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