I just finished reading a report on how health care reform is going to affect employer-sponsored health insurance. Basically, it said it won’t. The consultants believe that we’ll continue being offered insurance the same way we are today because many employers feel a moral obligation to do so. The biggest changes the authors see based on health care reform is that uninsured Americans will become Medicaid recipients, and those that don’t qualify for Medicaid but need individual insurance will go to the state insurance exchanges.

The one question going through my head as I read how HR managers are predicting small changes to what they offer today was how employees fit into this future. If employers continue to offer expensive, high-deductible plans that cost employees 25% of the premiums we may get to a point where we say “no thanks.” Now, I understand that there is an individual mandate in the new law, but when do “We the People” start having input on what we can “really” afford for health care coverage? If there are other options in the market for less expensive coverage than the $18,000 plan my husband’s company offers, I for one will run out and purchase it. Media reports swirled last week that a study of people who have $1,000 deductible levels or more weren’t seeking the care they needed to maintain their health. If we keep getting socked on the premiums, we undoubtedly will all end up self-medicating or ignoring our health. It will become just too expensive to go to the doctor and get a treatment plan for what ails us. After we spend all of our discretionary dollars on health coverage there isn’t much left over for care.

So I’m not sure that the message from Booz & Company is a positive one for consumers. What do you think?

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