Employers Preparing Now for Cadillac Tax in 2018

The Commonwealth Fund reports on recent trends among employers to start trimming back benefits now in preparation for the Cadillac Tax hitting "high cost plans" in 2018. As employees at many private companies prepare for the open enrollment season, some will find out soon about decisions their employers have made about benefits in order to escape a tax on expensive health care coverage that hits in 2018.

The tax imposes a 40 percent excise tax beginning in 2018 on the cost of coverage for health plans that goes above limits of $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for self and spouse or family coverage that year.  Nearly a third of all big employers say they are taking steps in 2014 to avoid the tax in 2018, according to a survey released earlier this week by the Mercer consulting firm.

Mercer estimates that about 40 percent of companies would have to pay the tax on at least one plan if they did not change the current benefit design. Mercer's figures are the partial findings of a survey of 2,800 large employers across the nation, with about 2,000 responses so far. The full survey will be released later.

NBCH member coalition, The Alliance in Madison, Wisconsin, has developed a Cadillac tax estimate calculator for employers.  You can find the calculator on the newly-launched NBCH ACA Calculators and Resources webpage.