Is it possible that the Cadillac Tax will be a major health spending cost ‘deflator’?
As employers continue to look for ways to control the cost of group medical insurance, the topic of spousal coverage is coming up more frequently. Each company views the issue differently and will implement different strategies.
Some strategies include:
- eliminating spousal coverage
- offering spousal coverage but requiring spouses with access to medical insurance through their own employer to enroll in his/her employer’s plan.
- applying a spousal surcharge
- in more rare circumstances, self-insured plans apply higher deductibles and co-pays to spouses
Reasons:
- Statistics show that spouses are more frequent users of the health insurance plan and have higher claims.
- Employers are pushing other employers to offer more affordable healthcare coverage to their own employees.
- Employers are feeling less included to incur the expenses for other than their own employees.
Things to consider:
- Always evaluate the impact of this change on employee morale. If you currently contribute toward spousal coverage, flipping a switch quickly may not be a good strategy. Instead, first consider reducing the contribution toward spousal coverage over time.
- Remember that there are limited ways that you can require spouses to enroll in their own employer’s plan or determine whether that spouse works for an employer that offers coverage.
- Consider whether not offering spousal coverage will impact your ability to recruit or retain employees
- If you don’t offer spousal coverage, how does this affect spousal coverage for your executive management team and what accommodations will you need to make in order to make them whole.
- If you don’t offer spousal coverage, how will you ensure that your employees receive proper help evaluating individual coverage for his/her spouse if that spouse does not have access medical insurance through his/her employer?
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