HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today highlighted the benefits of health insurance reform for businesses and released a new fact sheet regarding a recent analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.
“Businesses across the country are struggling under the weight of high health care costs,” Secretary Sebelius said. “Health insurance reform will help lift this burden, help businesses prosper, and ensure workers have the affordable, quality health care they need.”
A fact sheet regarding the analysis is included below.
Fact Sheet: New CBO Analysis Confirms Benefits of Health Insurance Reform for Businesses
American businesses know the health care status quo is unacceptable. Since 2000, premiums have more than doubled, a rate three times faster than the growth in wages.[i] Between 2000 and 2009, the percentage of firms offering coverage fell from 69 to 60, with much of that drop occurring in the past year alone.[ii] Small businesses in particular struggle under the current health care system. For firms employing less than 10 workers, the erosion in coverage is striking -- from 57 percent offering coverage in 2000 to 46 percent offering coverage in 2009.[iii] If we do nothing, over the next ten years, health care costs for large businesses are projected to reach $28,530 per employee, a 116 percent increase from 2009.[iv]
A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) affirms that businesses’ health insurance costs will be lower under health insurance reform -- even though the analysis does not take into account the full range of policies that will benefit businesses.
Health Insurance Premiums for Businesses According to CBO. In a November 30 letter to Senator Evan Bayh, CBO assesses the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordability Act on premiums for the individual, small-group, and large group markets. In 2016, CBO estimates that 159 million or 83 percent of privately insured people will be insured through employers.