Some health care experts believe that health care reform may cause drastic decreases in the amount of employers offering health insurance to their employees.  This could end up being disastrous for the millions of Americans who rely on this health insurance to take care of their family.  The Obama administration’s chief actuary of Medicare currently estimates that over 14 million people could lose their health insurance coverage through their jobs over the course of eight years according to the article “Watch for Dramatic Declines in Employer-Provided Health Insurance” by US Rep John Barrasso on JuneauEmpire.com.

Whether or not this ends up happening, it’s causing concern across both party lines.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has said health care reform law seems financially impossible.  Some studies show that about half of employers could end up eliminating their health insurance benefits for employees by 2013.  This may wreak havoc on households on a tight budget as they scramble to shop around for major medical insurance quotes.  McKinsey & Company found in their June study that about 30% of employers would stop offering health insurance benefits by 2014.  Some people believe this new law is designed to stop the employer-based health insurance option altogether.

While this may end up not being a bad thing, many Americans are afraid.  The Obama administration has already given out waivers to about 3 million Americans exempting them from the health insurance mandate.  The law also allows companies to drop out of offering employer coverage as long as they pay a $2000 per employee fine.  This is generally much less than companies pay for when they offer health insurance benefits, so more companies may be looking to save money.

By Sam Tabes

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