Report: Employers Altering Benefits Packages Due to ACA, Other Laws

Author: Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editor

June 21, 2013

New research released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) shows employers are changing benefits packages as a result of changing federal and state requirements. Employers surveyed in the 2013 Employee Benefits Research Report, sponsored by Columbia, SC-based Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, reported adding certain newly-required benefits. An employer should strategically design its benefits plans to ensure compliance with Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, as well as any applicable state laws mandating benefits.

The report shows a large rise in the number of employers offering preventive services (82 percent in 2013, a 16 percentage-point increase from 2009). The ACA mandates that preventive services, including contraception, be included in new health insurance plans.

The report also shows that state laws legalizing same-sex marriage are having an impact on employers' modifications to benefits plans. About 24 percent of employers now offer domestic partner benefits (excluding health care coverage), as opposed to 14 percent in 2009.

Additional modifications to employer-provided benefits plans are expected as certain ACA provisions become effective over the next four years.