For Americans insured by employers, not much will change
Jeremy Hobson: We’ll start with the Supreme Court’s decision on health care. It’s being hailed as good news for people without health insurance. But more than 80 percent of Americans do have health insurance, and more than 55 percent of us get it through our employer.
Marketplace’s Eve Troeh reports on what the ruling means for the insured.
Eve Troeh: If you work for a company with more than 50 employees — and that’s most of us — your health care will likely be the same in 2014 as it is today.
Michael Thompson: The great majority of employers are going to continue to offer coverage commensurate to what they’ve had before, or better.
Michael Thompson advises companies on healthcare at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. I asked him how the court ruling would impact the cost to employees.
Thompson: It’ll continue to evolve as it has been evolving.
Meaning: You will keep paying more, year after year, for your company health plan. But no more than you would have paid without the Affordable Care Act.
Now, if your company health plan costs more than 9.5 percent of your income, you have a choice, says Karen Pollitz at the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can buy one of the new, cheaper insurance plans created by the Affordable Care Act.
Karen Pollitz: If you do that, then your employer can be subject to penalties.
Penalties for not providing employees with affordable health care.
I’m Eve Troeh for Marketplace.
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