McGraw Wentworth Survey to Identify Michigan Benefits Trends, Employers’ Plans for Health Care Reform [Professional Services Close – Up]

In 2014, key elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) take effect, including employer "play or pay" mandates, mandatory coverage requirements for individuals, and health exchanges.

According to a release, Michigan organizations and human resources professionals are focusing on managing health care benefits costs while also adapting to and complying with the law. McGraw Wentworth, a Marsh & McLennan Agency company, has launched its tenth-annual Southeast Michigan Mid-Market Group Benefits Survey to provide employers with benchmarking and trend data to use in developing their 2014 benefits plan strategies, including how to best navigate Affordable Care Act requirements. Results and analysis will be released in May.

More than 550 southeast Michigan organizations are expected to participate in the free survey. The 2013 Mid-Market Survey includes new data points to address the changes in employer-sponsored health care. The resulting analysis will:

-Highlight whether Michigan organizations plan to continue offering group health coverage under health reform.

-Benchmark how organizations intend to address the 30-hour work week, affordability test, auto enrollment rules and availability of health exchange.

-Examine the use of cost control strategies such as defined contribution plans, consumer driven health plans (CDHPs), cost- shifting, and spousal surcharges.

-Track organizations' wellness initiatives, their use of incentives, and outcomes measurement.

-Review PPO, HMO and CDHP plan costs and co-pays for southeast Michigan employers.

-Identify the region's TrendBenders, high-performing organizations that have kept average cost increases at less than 3 percent over the past two years.

"Health Care Reform is prompting all employers to examine their business models, to delve deeper into their workforce and benefits management strategies," said Rebecca McLaughlan, Managing Director, McGraw Wentworth. "This survey is an important tool that helps midsize organizations understand health care cost trend and provides them with an objective overview of how their industry and regional peers intend to adapt to ACA."

Mid-sized employers with 100-10,000 employees in southeast Michigan - including manufacturing, technology, service, government, education and not-for-profit organizations -- benefit from the extensive survey analysis, the company said. Participants are invited to attend an informative survey results seminar at which they will receive a tailored report benchmarking their organization against industry peers and the entire dataset.

McGraw Wentworth is a group benefits consulting and brokerage firm based in Troy, Michigan.

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