Survey Reveals Nonprofit Employers Unprepared For Healthcare Reform (ACA) Requirements
Wallingford, CT (PRWEB) October 02, 2015 -- PPI Benefit Solutions (PPI), a leading provider of benefits administration technology and services with over 40 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, has released the findings of its 2015 Nonprofit Employee Benefits Survey, which measures and tracks benchmarks of private, nonprofit employee benefit plans. Survey results indicate that in 2015, fewer nonprofits understand Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, and nearly half consider ACA compliance to be “very challenging”. Furthermore, a majority of surveyed nonprofits has not calculated the cost of compliance.
In 2014, 92% of surveyed nonprofits felt they had at least a moderate understanding of the law; in 2015 that number fell to 47%. In 2014, 18% of employers felt that they were extremely knowledgeable of the ACA; only 5% made that claim in 2015. Furthermore, 56% of surveyed nonprofits have not calculated the cost of compliance with the ACA, and 45% consider ACA implementation very challenging when providing employee benefits.
“We see these struggles across our entire business; it is not necessarily unique to the nonprofit sector,” said Karen Greco, Director of Marketing for PPI Benefit Solutions. “Smaller, mid-sized employers are relying heavily on their brokers and administrators to bring clarity around certain aspects of the law, what does or does not apply, and what tools are available to help them meet their requirements.”
Although few nonprofit organizations plan to eliminate healthcare benefits or reduce their premium contributions as a direct result of the ACA, they continue to seek savings through plan design or decreasing dependent contributions, thus shifting more cost onto employees. This trend is reflected among 2015 survey results: 56% of surveyed nonprofits now offer a Health Savings Account (HSA). This is up from only 12% in 2014, and proves that consumer directed health plans (CDHPs) continue to gain momentum throughout the nonprofit sector. As a trade-off for lower premiums, HSA-compatible plans feature high deductibles, forcing consumers to become better managers of their healthcare dollars. To help offset these high deductibles, more employers are offering group voluntary products that feature premiums typically lower than their individual product counterparts and help fill the gaps in healthcare coverage until deductibles are met.
“Voluntary products can also be a great option for employers who might otherwise discontinue a particular benefit, such as dental or vision.” says Greco.
As the healthcare marketplace continues to evolve, nearly 100% of nonprofit employers remain committed to delivering health and welfare benefits to employees in order to improve job satisfaction and maintain a competitive advantage for talent.
The findings of the PPI 2015 Nonprofit Employee Benefits Survey also include plan benchmarks that can help nonprofit employers compare their own offerings with others throughout the nonprofit sector. These benchmarks include statistics on enrollment methods, average payroll deductions, eligibility, waiting periods, and contribution strategies, among others.
PPI Benefit Solutions has compiled these findings into a free report, which is available at ppibenefits.com/survey. If you are a private nonprofit and are interested in participating in the next survey, please contact research(at)ppibenefits.com.
Survey Methodology
The 2015 Nonprofit Employee Benefits Survey was conducted over a period of four weeks, beginning March 9, 2015 and ending April 3, 2015. A total of 299 responses were received, representing a 16% increase over last year’s participation. The majority of responses were submitted by human resources professionals at mid-sized private nonprofits located in northeastern United States.
About PPI Benefit Solutions
PPI Benefit Solutions helps smaller, mid-sized employers relieve the day-to-day challenges of managing an employee benefits program. With over 40 years of benefits administration experience working with nonprofit organizations, PPI leverages strategic relationships with a broad array of nationally recognized insurance carriers and powerful, web-based technology to provide a single solution for multiple carrier enrollments and eligibility processing (including online enrollment and employee self-service), electronic eligibility data and discrepancy management, true premium billing and payments, COBRA Administration, and member advocacy services, all at little or no cost to the employer. Working exclusively through brokers, PPI serves over 1,300 clients, mainly in the Tri-State, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. PPI (Professional Pensions Inc., dba PPI Benefit Solutions) is a subsidiary of NFP Corp. (NFP). For more information, visit ppibenefits.com.
Karen Greco, Director of Marketing, PPI Benefit Solutions, https://www.ppibenefits.com/survey/, +1 (203) 793-1233, [email protected]
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