Dive Brief:
- According to a report by McClatchy DC, a majority of companies are planning to shift from employer-based health coverage to plans sold on the federal marketplace by 2020, according to a new investor report by Standard & Poor Capital IQ.
- The report, based on S&P's 500 Companies, found that making such a change would save the companies a total of $689 billion through 2025.
- Out of the S&P 500 companies, 10% will make the change by 2016, 30% by 2017, 70% by 2019 and 90% by 2020, according to McClatchy DC.
Dive Insight:
If the shift occurs from employer-based health care to policies purchased on the exchange, it might be the most significant change in the health insurance market in many decades. After all, employer-based insurance is not exactly a new phenomenon. The thing is, we don't know what the secondary or unintended effects will be as this shift takes place. It will be difficult to predict how the health system will be affected by this massive restructuring in the payer market.