If, for some crazy reason, you want to alienate your workforce, one of the best ways to do that is to cut back or totally dump your employer-sponsored health coverage.
Global research consultancy TNS surveyed 1,700 U.S. consumers in the 18-64 age range, and found that more than a third (35 percent) would look for another job "if their employer were to discontinue providing health insurance without providing any funds to help repurchase health insurance on their own."
If an employer offers some cash to workers to help them with coverage, the look-for-another-job percent drops to 24. Still, that's a quarter of the workforce.
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If an employer simply decides to reduce the coverage offered by an existing plan, 25 percent said they dust up their resumes and look elsewhere for employment.
"With the ACA providing new health plan alternatives that are not employer-dependent, some employees may be feeling less 'locked-in' with their existing employers and more likely to move to a new employer when their current health plan becomes less desirable. As employers are taking actions to manage health benefit costs, they should take account of the potential hidden costs and productivity loss associated with employee turnover that could be spurred by changes in their benefits strategy," said William Bruno, TNS vice president.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
