Businesses begin to grapple with health care reform

Judging by the puzzled looks and frantic note-taking of many of the 425-plus attendees at the Business Report-hosted Health Care Reform Forum today, a lot of companies have put off preparing for implementation of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. But it’s time to start cramming: Open enrollment in the health insurance marketplaces known as exchanges begins Oct. 1, and many businesses that don’t offer robust health insurance will face penalties for employees who get coverage through the exchanges instead. Roughly speaking, the penalties for not offering insurance will apply to companies with 50 or more full-time–equivalent employees, but the formulas (found in IRS 2012 bulletins 58 and 59) have a novel definition of what constitutes an FTE. Young, healthy people, and firms with a lot of young employees, will face the greatest “sticker shock,” says Kerry Drake of Wright & Percy Insurance. But health care reform, as difficult as it is, is necessary, several speakers maintained. “It’s really going to be a driver for what needs to be done on a real, human level,” says Patrick Seiter, who chairs the health practice team at Taylor Porter. “We’re just all going to have to work together.” Innovation is needed across the health care spectrum, says Dr. Stephanie Mills, president and CEO of Franciscan Health & Wellness Services. “Employers have to fundamentally change the way they look at health care,” Drake says. “We’ll have to step up.” —David Jacobs