The Affordable Care Act, perhaps better known as Obamacare, set in motion a series of changes that are drastically altering the health-services landscape.
The law itself was designed for a few purposes. Primarily, it was enacted in order to reduce the amount of uninsured citizens in this country, and to help spread the cost of medical care across a greater number of people. By doing so, long-term medical-cost inflation should be held in check and sticker shock could become a thing of the past.
However, whether healthcare cost inflation is under control is still very much up to debate.
According to a report released earlier this year from benefits consulting firm Buck Consultants, which surveyed 126 insurers and health-plan administrators across the country, employer’s health care costs are expected to rise by nearly 9% (preferred-provider organization plans up 8.7% and HMOs up 8.6%) in 2015. Considering the drastic nature of the changes brought upon by Obamacare, this is a potentially hefty increase for businesses to absorb.