About one in five U.S. employers either have reduced hours for workers they consider to be part-time, or will do so, in response to requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
That's what a survey of some 740 human resources professionals conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found.
The vast majority — nearly three-quarters — of respondents haven't altered schedules to avoid providing health insurance for part-timers working 30 or more hours a week on average. But 14 percent have, and another 6 percent told SHRM they intend to.
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It's still a significant number as some previous studies have found that most large employers will not circumvent coverage extension by reducing full-time workers' hours. SHRM's survey results come as PPACA marks its 5th anniversary this week.
PPACA mandates large employers offer health care coverage to employees working 30 hours or more per week or face a penalty.
When it comes to trying to reduce full-time worker hours or reducing the number of full-time employees to duck under the requirement, SHRM reported that only about 10 percent have considered going down that road.
"As organizations learned more about the law, they found that their coverage levels were already the same or more than what the law required, minimizing the adjustments that some anticipated employers would need to make when the ACA was created," said Evren Esen, director of SHRM's survey programs.
Among other outcomes:
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54 percent of employers require employees to work 30 hours a week to be eligible for coverage, an increase from 44 percent in 2014 and 39 percent in 2013. Another 26 percent require employees to work more than 30 hours a week to be eligible.
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66 percent said their organization offered the same level of health care benefits as before PPACA was enacted.
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77 percent said that their health care coverage costs increased from 2014 to 2015, and 6 percent saw a decrease.
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About three out of five organizations have made changes to their health care coverage in the last year.
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54 percent offered alternative health care plans such as health savings accounts and health reimbursement accounts this year, compared to 37 percent in 2013. In addition, 13 percent of respondents said they planned to offer alternatives in the future.
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20 percent had health plans with grandfathered status in the past but have since dropped the status. Of the organizations that ended their grandfathered status, 19 percent said it would have cost more to keep the status than to change plans
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53 percent said they would not be affected by an excise tax on high-cost benefits that takes effect in 2018 or are taking action to avoid the tax.
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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.
