SUMMARYOFFINDINGS ThedebateaboutthefutureoftheACAhasfocusedontheprovisionsthatextendedcoverageinthenon-groupmarket andMedicaid,withtheprovisionsaffectingemployer-sponsoredcoveragereceivingrelativelylittleattention. Employers generallyappeartohaveadaptedtoACAprovisionswithoutsignificantdisruption,includingtheemployerrequirement tooffercoverageorpayapenalty,theprovisionsrequiringpreventivecarebecoveredwithoutcostsharing,andthat non-grandfatheredplanshaveanout-of-pocketlimitoncostsharing. Evenifrepealandreplaceeffortsultimatelysucceed, theimpactsonthegroupmarketwilllikelyberelativelysmall: forexample,someemployersmayreduceoffersofcoverageto someoftheirlower-paidemployeesormayreducethenumberofpreventiveservicesavailablewithoutcostsharing;butthe larger metrics measuringcostsandcoverageareunlikelytochangeinanysignificantway. Onepolicythatcouldaffectthemarketoverthenextcoupleofyearsisthehigh-costplantax,alsoknownastheCadillactax. In previous surveys, employersreportedincreasingcostsharingandmakingotherchangesinanticipationofthehigh-cost plantaxtakingeffectin2018. Withtheeffectivedateofthetaxdelayeduntil2020(andwiththeapparentwidespread Congressionalsupportforfurtherdelay),thepressureforemployerswithmoreexpensiveplanstotakeactionstoreducetheir costseemstohaveabated. Thiscouldchangeabruptly,however,ifthetaxisnotfurtherdelayedinthenearfuture. METHODOLOGY TheKaiserFamilyFoundation/HealthResearch&EducationalTrust2017AnnualEmployerHealthBenefitsSurvey(Kaiser/HRET) reportsfindingsfromatelephonesurveyof2,137randomlyselectednon-federalpublicandprivateemployerswiththreeor moreworkers. ResearchersattheHealthResearch&EducationalTrust,NORCattheUniversityofChicago,andtheKaiserFamily Foundationdesignedandanalyzedthesurvey. NationalResearch,LLCconductedthefieldworkbetweenJanuaryandJune 2017. In 2017, the overall response rate is 33%, which includes firms that offer and do not offer health benefits. Among firms thatofferhealthbenefits,thesurvey’sresponserateisalso33%. Toimproveestimatesforsmallfirms,the2017surveyhada significantly larger sample than previous years; the increased sample size lead to both more firms completingthesurveyand alowerresponseratethaninyearspast. Unlessotherwisenoted,differencesreferredtointhetextandfiguresusethe0.05 confidencelevelasthethresholdforsignificance. Formoreinformationonthesurveymethodology,pleasevisittheMethodologysectionathttp://ehbs.kff.org/. TheKaiserFamilyFoundation,aleaderinhealthpolicyanalysis,healthjournalismandcommunication,isdedicatedtofilling theneedfortrusted,independentinformationonthemajorhealthissuesfacingournationanditspeople. TheFoundationisa non-profitprivateoperatingfoundationbasedinMenloPark,California. TheHealthResearch&EducationalTrust(HRET)Foundedin1944,theHealthResearch&EducationalTrust(HRET)isthe not-for-profit research and educationaffiliateoftheAmericanHospitalAssociation(AHA).HRET’smissionistotransform healthcarethroughresearchandeducation. HRET’sappliedresearchseekstocreatenewknowledge,toolsandassistancein improvingthedeliveryofhealthcarebyprovidersandpractitionerswithinthecommunitiestheyserve. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 14