At the 10th World Health Care Congress held just outside Washington, D.C., in April, Mark Fogel, head of HR for New York-based accounting firm Marcum Group, said his organization is still "grappling" with what to do about the Affordable Care Act and the new world for employers.
"Public exchanges have been the topic in the media, but private exchanges seem to be the topic for when we're planning for 2014 and beyond," Fogel told attendees.
He plans to watch private exchanges and defined-contribution health plans over the next year, because offering a variety of options and lower costs for his employees is a goal of his to remain competitive.
Fogel planned to meet with his brokers and other health insurance advisers the next day to discuss compliance with the ACA in 2014 and how to lower health care costs.
He noted that, "we may not be at the front of the curve, we may be in the middle of the curve," regarding his company's work toward ACA solutions in the next year and beyond.
Elizabeth Bierbower, head of the employer group segment at Humana, also participated in the panel. Speaking from the carrier perspective she said, "My point today was to have you step back and say, 'What is health reform and what is it causing?'"
She reminded the crowd that employee benefits came into existence more than 70 years ago, and while companies have never been required to provide them until now, they always have.
