Employees expect health care premiums to rise because of ACA

Employees understand they that will bear part of the added costs of health care plan improvements mandated by the health care reform law in the form of higher premiums, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Just over half — 54% — of employees working for large employers expect the premiums they have to pay for coverage will increase in the next 12 months, the National Business Group on Health survey found.

Employees understand “there is no free lunch. You can't add to benefit packages without costs going up,” NBGH President and CEO Helen Darling said Tuesday at a briefing in Washington.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has forced nearly all employers to upgrade their health care plans to meet new requirements. For example, plans have to extend coverage to employees' adult children up to age 26, while annual and lifetime dollar limits were eliminated.

Still, while employees, as well as their employers, face higher costs because of benefit upgrades required by the health care reform law, few employees are worried that their employers will terminate plan coverage.

Just 10% of employees believe their employers will terminate coverage in the next three to five years.

While only a minority — 40% — of employees say they are familiar with the ACA, more employees are aware of specific provisions of the law.

For example, 69% of respondents said they are at least somewhat familiar with the requirement that individuals, starting in 2014, must either enroll in a health care plan or pay a fine.