ATLANTA — There was a lot of scowling during a health reform session at the Society for Human Resource Management's annual conference in Atlanta.

Kay Mooney, head of strategic development and products at Aetna, spoke Monday before a very packed session. The president's health care reform may be headed for extinction, but benefits managers at the expo weren't ready to dismiss it just yet, not when there are penalties still at stake.

While managers still don't know the fate of the Affordable Care Act, they're sure of one thing: it won't be affordable. And it won't be easy to factor in all the variables that come with managing a diverse work force — like employee wages and employment status. Clearly, the biggest groans were over the law's effort to expand coverage even if it's offered through an employer.