1. SHRM Survey Findings: SHRM/EBRI 2014 Health Benefits Survey
November 19, 2014

2. Key Findings
Very few organizations expect to eliminate health care coverage in Only 1% of organizations reported expecting to eliminate health care coverage in No government agencies reported expecting to eliminate coverage.
Large organizations are more likely to expect to make changes to their health plans in 2015 than small organizations. Large organizations (750 or more FTEs) were more likely to report that they expect to make changes to their health plans in a variety of ways. In addition, small organizations (fewer than 750 FTEs) were not significantly more likely to report they expect to make any changes than larger organizations.
Large organizations expect to hit the excise tax in Large organizations are more likely than small organizations to expect to hit the excise tax in This could account for significantly more larger organizations expecting to make changes to their health plans in 2015 to avoid the excise tax.
PPO plans are the most common plan that is expected to hit the excise tax in Nearly 75% of organizations expect their PPO plans to hit the excise tax, more than all other plans combined.
Organizations do not know what they are going to do to avoid the excise tax. Nearly 30% of organizations do not know what they will do to avoid the excise tax in 2018.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

3. What Do These Findings Mean for the HR Profession?
Despite employers’ continued uncertainty surrounding health care reform and its related costs, most organizations are not considering eliminating coverage for their employees at this time. Only 1% of HR professionals who responded to this survey said their organization would eliminate coverage in 2015.
Other research has shown that health care benefits are an extremely valuable recruiting tool, and HR professionals often cite these benefits when hiring new workers or retaining existing employees. Given the competitive nature of finding top talent at the moment, health care benefits should be viewed as an important element of staffing management.
Many HR professionals are already looking ahead to 2018, when an employer tax on high-cost health plans will go into effect. This excise tax of 40% will apply to certain individual and family thresholds on health plans and will prompt HR professionals to re-examine their health care offerings as a means of cutting costs. Although many of the respondents to this survey (30%) said they still don’t know what actions they would take to avoid the excise tax, very few (3.5%) said they would eliminate health care coverage as a result.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

4. SHRM/EBRI 2014 Health Benefits Survey
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

5. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015?
Note: n = 2,295
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

6. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by staff size)
Note: n = 2,271
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

7. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by staff size, continued)
Note: n = 2,135
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

8. Comparisons by organization staff size
Do You Plan to Make Any of The Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by staff size)
Comparisons by organization staff size
Organizations with 750 or more FTEs are more likely than organizations with fewer than 750 FTEs to make the following changes to health care plans in 2015:
Institute spousal surcharge.
Eliminate coverage for part-time workers.
Adopt a value-based insurance design (VBID).
Adopt reference pricing.
Create tiered networks.
Add wellness rewards or penalties.
Comparisons by organization staff size
750 or more FTEs
>
Fewer than 750 FTEs
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

9. U.S. Census Bureau Regions
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

10. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by region)
Note: n = 2,264
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

11. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by region, continued)
Note: n = 2,279
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

12. Comparisons by organization staff size
Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by region)
Comparisons by region
Organizations in the South and Midwest are more likely than organizations in the West to require spouses to get health care coverage through their own employer.
Comparisons by region
South
Midwest
>
West
Organizations in the Northeast are more likely than organizations in the South and West to provide an employee subsidy for coverage on the private exchange.
Comparisons by organization staff size
Northeast
>
South
West
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

13. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by region)
Comparisons by region
Organizations in the South are more likely than organizations in the West to add wellness rewards or penalties.
Comparisons by region
South
>
West
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

14. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by sector)
Note: n = 2,279
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

15. Do You Plan to Make Any of The Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by sector, continued)
Note: n = 2,279
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

16. Do You Plan to Make Any of The Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by business activity)
Note: n = 2,264
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

17. Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by business activity, continued)
Note: n = 2,264
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

18. Comparison by business activity
Do You Plan to Make Any of the Following Changes to Your Health Care Plans in 2015? (by business activity)
Comparison by business activity
Manufacturing organizations are more likely than consulting organizations to add wellness rewards or penalties.
Comparison by business activity
Manufacturing
>
Consulting
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

19. Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018?
Note: n = 1,803
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

20. Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by staff size)
Note: n = 1,713
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

21. Comparison by organization staff size
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by staff size)
Comparison by organization staff size
Organizations with 750 or more FTEs are more likely than organizations with fewer than 750 FTEs to expect to hit the excise tax in 2018.
Comparison by organization staff size
750 or more FTEs
>
Fewer than 750 FTEs
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

22. Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by region)
Note: n = 1,791
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

23. Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by sector)
Note: n = 1,791
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

24. Privately owned for-profit
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by sector)
Comparison by sector
Government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit or nonprofit organizations to expect to hit the excise tax in 2018.
Comparison by sector
Government
>
Privately owned for-profit
Nonprofit
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

25. Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018
Do You Expect Your Organization to Hit the Excise Tax in 2018? (by business activity)
Note: n = 1,776
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

26. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax?
Note: n = 249
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

27. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by staff size)
Note: n = 239
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

28. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by region)
Note: n = 246
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

29. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by region)
Comparisons by region
Organizations in the West are more likely than organizations in the South or Midwest to expect HMO plans to hit the excise tax.
Comparisons by region
West
>
South
Midwest
Organizations in the Northeast are more likely than organizations in the Midwest and West to expect POS plans to hit the excise tax.
Comparisons by organization staff size
Northeast
>
Midwest
West
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

30. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by sector)
Note: n = 246
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

31. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by sector)
Comparison by sector
Government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit or publicly owned for-profit organizations to expect HMO plans to hit the excise tax.
Comparison by sector
Government
>
Privately owned for-profit
Publicly owned for-profit
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

32. Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax
Which Plan(s) Do You Expect to Hit the Excise Tax? (by business activity)
Note: n = 244
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

33. What Actions, if Any, Will You Take to Avoid the Excise Tax?
Note: n = 170
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

34. Demographics
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

35. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Services—professional, scientific, technical
20%
Health care, social assistance
17%
Manufacturing (durable goods)
14%
High-tech
13%
Consulting
12%
Business support services
11%
Finance
10%
Manufacturing (nondurable goods) 9%
Retail/wholesale trade 8%
Government/public administration—state/local
Educational services 7%
Publishing, broadcasting, other media 6%
Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations
Transportation, warehousing
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014
Note: n = 3,329. Total number of respondents and percentage for this question exceeded the overall sample size due to multiple response options.

36. Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Percentage
Construction, mining, oil and gas 4%
Insurance
Services—accommodation, food and drinking places
Arts, entertainment, recreation 3%
Utilities
Telecommunications
Real estate, rental, leasing
Repair and maintenance
Association—professional/trade 1%
Biotech
Pharmaceutical
Waste management and remediation services
Government/public administration—federal
Note: n = 3,329. Total number of respondents and percentage for this question exceeded the overall sample size due to multiple response options.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

37. Demographics: Organization Sector
Note: n = 3,302. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

38. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
Note: n = 3,031. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

39. Demographics: Region Note: n = 3,289.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

40. Demographics: Business Activity
Note: n = 3,277.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

41. Demographics: Organizational Level
Note: n = 3,190.
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

42. Survey Methodology Response rate = 14%
3,329 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership
Margin of error +/- 5%
Survey fielded February 4 to April 7, 2014
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

43. About SHRM Research
For more survey/poll findings, visit shrm.org/surveys For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit shrm.org/customizedresearch Follow us on
Project leader:
Andrew Mariotti, senior researcher, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Steven Hyde, research coordinator, SHRM Research
Joseph Coombs, senior analyst, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014

44. About SHRM and EBRI SHRM EBRI
Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries, the Society is the leading provider of resources to serve the needs of HR professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org.
EBRI
The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute based in Washington, DC, that focuses on health, savings, retirement, and economic security issues. EBRI does not lobby and does not take policy positions. The work of EBRI is made possible by funding from its members and sponsors, which include a broad range of public, private, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. For more information go to or
SHRM/EBRI Health Benefits Survey ©SHRM 2014