Survey: Colorado Small Businesses Remain Committed to Employee Benefits
- Second-annual statewide small business survey released by Delta Dental of Colorado
- Nine in 10 small employers that offer benefits committed to keeping them despite challenges
- Finding follows a drop in small businesses offering health benefits in 2015
- Dental coverage remains a top benefit for small employers across Colorado
DENVER – Nine in 10 Colorado small business employers who offer employee health plans remain as committed to providing health benefits as they were before the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, but that commitment is facing significant pressures.
These are among the findings of the second-annual Delta Dental of Colorado Small Business Survey, a survey of 300 small business owners and health benefits decision-makers of companies with five to 100 employees.
Small business owners report they continue to grapple with increasing costs, greater regulations and uncertainties. Despite these challenges, eight in 10 employers say their commitment to benefits remains unchanged, and an equal number (10 percent) say their commitment has either increased or decreased.
A similar portion – 96 percent – say employee benefits will remain as or more important for recruiting and retaining talent in the future compared to today. Employers expressed the same level of commitment to offering dental benefits, with 96 percent of small businesses that offer dental coverage reporting they are “very” or “extremely” likely to continue to do so in the future.
“Colorado small businesses seem to be saying that they are doing everything they can to continue offering insurance because it is important to their employees, but at the same time they are running out of options to control their health care costs under the mandates of the ACA,” said Karl Weiss, president of Market Perceptions & Healthcare Research, which conducted the study.
The findings come on the heels of a Colorado Health Institute report showing 12 percent fewer employees of Colorado small businesses were covered under employee-sponsored plans in 2015 than two years earlier, an indication businesses shifted workers to obtain care on their own.
“Our annual workforce study shows small businesses in the Vail Valley recognize the importance of providing health benefits to employees. This survey illustrates how rising costs and an increasing regulatory burden is making that more difficult to do,” said Chris Romer, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership.
Survey highlights include:
- Commitment to health benefits: Nine in 10 small businesses report their willingness to offer health insurance to employee is the same or greater than the past.
- Small businesses feel impact of ACA – with most citing increased cost: Nearly half (45 percent) of small businesses said ACA has impacted their employee benefits a “great deal” or a “moderate” amount. Increased costs were the biggest impact cited. Nearly half (45 percent) expect the ACA to impact their benefits more in 2016 than it has so far, suggesting that changes in small business health insurance practices are far from over.
- Businesses shift costs to employees: Nearly one in three small businesses changed health plans and/or insurance carriers in the past year. Among those changing plans, two-third shifted more costs to employees.
- Fewer changes moving forward: Nearly three-fourths of small businesses plan to keep their current carrier for their upcoming renewal, up from 65 percent in 2014. Businesses with fewer than 49 employees were much more likely to remain with their current carrier than a year ago, when nearly half reported a change was “very” or “extremely” likely.
- Popularity of dental: Nearly eight in 10 small businesses offer dental benefits, and 94 percent of businesses with 50 to 100 employees do so. Of those, 96 percent report they are “very” or “extremely” likely to continue to offer it. More than three-fourths of employers consider dental benefits “extremely” or “very” important to their overall benefits mix, up slightly from 2014.
“We’re pleased to see the message is getting through to small business that oral health is an essential part of one’s overall health,” said Kate Paul, CEO of Delta Dental of Colorado, which funded the study. “We know dental coverage tops the list of popular ancillary benefits for employees, a fact that isn’t lost on small business owners.”
Pediatric dental benefits are required to be included in health plans under ACA as one of 10 essential benefits.
Other findings of the 2015 Delta Dental of Colorado’s Small Business Survey include:
- Mixed message for insurance brokers: Nearly 20 percent of small businesses now purchase insurance directly from a carrier, a three-fold increase from last year. For the smallest businesses, with fewer than 50 employees, more than one-fourth of businesses deal directly with a carrier. Of businesses that continue to use a health insurance broker, two-thirds say the broker is more important to their business than before.
- SHOP marketplace lagging: Fewer small businesses are aware of the state’s Small Business Health Options (SHOP) Program or willing to consider using it, compared to a year ago. Three in 10 small businesses report having heard of SHOP. Once they learn of the SHOP, half of employers say they would consider using it for their next renewal, down from 63 percent in 2014.
For full survey results visit: www.DeltaDentalCO.com