Exchanges:
The Large Employer Perspective
SHOP Webinar
February 22, 2012
Purchaser
Bill Kramer, Executive Director for National Health Policy
Pacific Business Group on Health
Key Issues
•Why do large employers care about Exchanges?
•Will large employers use the Exchanges?
•What factors will they use in making these decisions?
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Why Do Large Employers Care about
Exchanges?
The Exchange can be a potential purchasing ally
• Opportunity to align the purchasing strategies of
Exchanges with those of large employers  consistent
signal to health plans and providers
Employers want the Exchanges to work
• They may want to use the Exchanges for some or all of
their employees in the future.
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Will large employers use the Exchanges?
2014: many are considering use for pre-Medicare
retirees and part-time workers
2017 and beyond: some may use for all employees,
but . . .
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Uncertainties
Economy/ labor market
Viability of the Exchanges
Future of the ACA
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Internal Factors
Costs
HR strategy
Competition
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The Bottom Line
It is much too early to predict whether and how large
employers will use the exchanges. What is clear, however,
is that the Affordable Care Act and the planning for the
exchanges have given a jolt to the thinking of many large
employers. After decades of frustration with attempts to
improve the quality and affordability of the health
benefits offered to employees, many large employers now
see the possibility of new options. This developing
awareness is allowing them to rethink their basic human
resources strategies and consider alternatives to
traditional employee health benefits.
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The Pacific Business Group on Health
• The Pacific Business Group on Health helps
purchasers improve the quality of health care and
limit health care cost increases.
• Our 50 members spend 12 billion dollars annually to
provide health care coverage to more than three
million employees, retirees and dependents in
California alone.
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PBGH Members
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For more information please visit:
•
Learn more about the Pacific Business Group on Health
and our effort to improve the quality of health care while
moderating costs at www.pbgh.org
•
Learn more about the Consumer Purchaser Disclosure
Project’s work to bring employers, consumers and labor
organizations together to improve access to publicly
reported health care performance information at
www.healthcaredisclosure.org
•
Bill Kramer: wkramer@pbgh.org
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