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Wisconsin
EMPLOYER SPONSORED INSURANCE IN WISCONSIN
Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population of Wisconsin
Wisconsin residents are insured Compared to United States4
through their employers at a
higher rate than the national
average. Almost 60% of
52.3 4.7 12.4 15.4
Wisconsin residents have United States 14.1 1.2
employer‐sponsored insurance,
compared to the national
average of 52.3%.1 59.5
5.2 12.6 9.0
Wisconsin 13.2 0.3
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
While more Wisconsin Employer Individual Medicaid Medicare Other Public Uninsured
residents obtain insurance
through their employers, a Percent of Firms Offering Coverage by Firm Size5
lower percentage of employers
in Wisconsin offer insurance
(52.3%) than compared to the 96.5
United States
43.2
national average (56.4%).2 This
difference can be explained by
98.6
the fact that large employers in Wisconsin
37.6
Wisconsin offer insurance at a
greater rate than their national
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
counterparts; meanwhile, small
Wisconsin employers are below % of Large Businesses* Offering Health Insurance
the national average.3 % of Small Businesses** Offering Health Insurance
* Large businesses have more than 50 employees
** Small business have less than 50 employees
THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA): THE EXCHANGES6
Because employer sponsored insurance is crucial to Wisconsin’s overall health insurance market, it is
important to examine the potential impacts that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) might
have in Wisconsin.
One part of the ACA that has the potential to greatly transform employer sponsored insurance is the creation
of state based exchanges. The ACA creates state based exchanges, or marketplaces, which will offer a choice
of plans that meet standards for coverage and that will give employers and consumers information to allow
Issue Area, Employer Insurance: Wisconsin Page 1 of 3
National Coalition on Health Care July 2010
them to make informed decisions about which policy to purchase.
Under ACA employers with less than 100 employees can participate when the exchanges open by 2014
(states will have the option of using 50 employees as the cut off instead). Beginning in 2017, states will have
the option of allowing larger businesses to enter into the exchanges.
The hope is that, by allowing small employers the ability to purchase through an exchange along with other
small employers in the state, their combined purchasing power will help them to realize significant savings.
However, any employer, regardless of size, may purchase insurance outside of the exchange if they wish.
HOW ACA MAY EFFECT EMPLOYER SPONSORED INSURANCE7
Will The ACA does not require that employers offer insurance. However, employers with 50 or
Employers
more employees will be assessed a fee of $2,000 per full‐time employee (excluding the first
be Required
30 employees from the assessment) if they do not offer coverage and if they have at least
to Offer
one employee who receives a premium credit through an Exchange.
Insurance?
The Affordable Care Act establishes a number of minimum standards that employer
sponsored plans must meet including:
No lifetime annual limits‐Plans are prohibited from limiting the dollar value of
benefits effective 6 months after enactment. ‘Restricted’ annual limits are allowed
through 2013.
Dependents under age 26‐Plans must allow unmarried adult children under age 26 to
enroll in a parent’s plan effective 6 months after enactment. Through 2013, adult
What children may only enroll in a parent’s grandfathered plan if they are ineligible for
Standards another employer‐sponsored plan.
Must Medical Loss Ratios‐Health insurance plans are required to spend above 80‐85% of
Employer premium dollars on activities which improve the health of their enrollees. HHS is
Sponsored currently developing definitions for which activities can be counted towards this 80‐
Plans Meet? 85% requirement. Self insured plans are exempt from this requirement.
Preventive Care‐Plans must offer first dollar coverage for preventative services
beginning September 23rd, 2010. This requirement does not apply to so‐called
“grandfathered” plans.
Out of Pocket Maximums‐Plans must limit out‐of‐pocket costs to $5,950 for single
coverage and $11,900 for family coverage (2010 dollars) effective in 2014. This
requirement does not apply to so‐called “grandfathered” plans or to self‐insured
plans
Beginning in 2018, employers will be taxed at a rate of 40% for plans which exceed the high
How will
threshold level. Individual plans with benefits totaling $10,200 per year, and family plans
the Excise
with benefits totaling $27,500 per year exceed the high threshold level and are subject to the
Tax Effect
tax. Starting in 2019 and onward, the threshold levels will be inflation adjusted from their
Employers?
2018 levels.
Small Employers with 25 or less full time employees, whose average wage is no more than $50,000
Business in 2010‐2013, are eligible for a tax credit under ACA. To be eligible for the tax credit,
Issue Area, Employer Insurance: Wisconsin Page 2 of 3
National Coalition on Health Care July 2010
Tax Credit employer must contribute at least 50% of the premium cost. The credit will eventually pay
for up to 35% of the employer’s contribution beginning in 2014 (between 2010 and 2013 it
will pay for 25%). The credit however, varies based on employer size and the employees
average wage. To be eligible for the credit, employers must purchase coverage through the
exchange beginning in 2014. The tax credit is temporary, and employers will only receive it
for the first two years they offer insurance through the exchanges. The idea behind the tax
credit is to encourage small businesses, which typically do not offer health insurance, a little
extra push to get them over the hump and into the exchanges.
1
THE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, statehealthfacts.org. Health Coverage & Uninsured. Data Source: Urban Institute and
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates based on the Census Bureau's March 2008 and 2009 Current
Population Survey (CPS: Annual Social and Economic Supplements), available at
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparecat.jsp?cat=3&rgn=51&rgn=1 (last accessed June 2010).
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid.
6
UC BERKLEY LABOR CENTER. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Summary of Provisions Affecting Employer‐Sponsored
Insurance, (April 2010), available at http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthpolicy/ppaca10.pdf (last accessed June 2010).
7
Ibid.
Issue Area, Employer Insurance: Wisconsin Page 3 of 3
National Coalition on Health Care July 2010