Predictions that Obamacare would lead employers to stop providing health insurance hasn’t happened yet, according to a new analysis.
Americans still largely received health insurance through their work over the past few years, even with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in fall 2013. In March, 83 percent of all employees said in a recent survey they were offered health insurance through their employers, compared with 82.3 percent in June 2013, according to the Urban Institute.
“Despite rumors to the contrary, so far it would appear that employer-sponsored health insurance is holding steady,” said Kathy Hempstead, who researches coverage issues for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the analysis.
Hempstead said employer coverage is holding steady partly because of the expanding economy.
She noted that it might take more time to fully discern Obamacare’s impact on employer-provided insurance.
For one thing, the employer mandate doesn’t go into effect until 2017. That requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide health insurance.
The Urban Institute found that more than 90 percent of workers in large companies already are offered insurance.
The Urban Institute examined responses to its Health Reform Monitoring Survey and looked at coverage rates for workers below 250 percent of the federal poverty level or workers in small companies.
“These results likely reflect the effects of the individual mandate as well as strong tax incentives to obtain coverage from employers,” the think tank said. “Because of those tax incentives, most workers are financially better off if they obtain coverage through employment.”
