OPINION:
Over 150 million Americans get their health care coverage from their employer through employer-sponsored insurance. These plans provide employees with access to high-quality, low-cost health care. The plans also have the flexibility to include added benefits for workers and their families and serve as a crucial recruiting tool for employers.
Employer-sponsored health insurance not only provides better, more comprehensive coverage but is also a better value than government-run health care programs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, employer-based coverage is the least expensive type of coverage for the taxpayer, costing just $2,000 per recipient annually. The highest cost of coverage is Medicare at $15,309 per recipient, and the second most expensive coverage is through the Affordable Care Act exchanges at $6,630 per recipient.
The benefits of employer-sponsored health insurance go beyond its cost-effectiveness. By offering innovative health care plans, employers are better able to attract talent. Competitive and attractive benefits, like employee assistance or wellness programs, are often a determining factor in whether candidates accept certain positions. In this sense, employer-sponsored health care plans contribute to a competitive hiring environment and bolster the workforce by providing incentives for workers to choose the position or company that offers the best benefits.
These plans are also much more personal and customizable since employees can rely on their workplace for coverage instead of attempting to communicate with a bureaucrat-run program. Rather than groveling before government agencies, employees can rely on their human resources offices to resolve disputes and administer their plans. Employers are also directly invested in the health and wellness of their employees, giving them all the more reason to offer high-quality health coverage options to keep their workers happy, healthy, and on the job.
Democrats are trying to unravel employer-sponsored plans and force more Americans to buy “Obamacare” plans, despite the fact that 68% of Americans prefer to get their coverage through their employer rather than through the federal or state government. It’s all part of misguided efforts to expand the failing, high-cost Obamacare market, even if it leaves workers and taxpayers on the hook for higher costs and lower-quality care.
These efforts are evident in the Department of Health and Human Services’ fiscal 2025 budget, which calls for making permanent the American Rescue Plan Act’s expansion of Obamacare’s advance premium tax credits. The CBO estimates this would cause 3.6 million employees to lose employer-sponsored insurance coverage and would cost taxpayers $383 billion over 10 years.
Obamacare subsidies overwhelmingly benefit wealthier Americans. So, to help maintain the financial health of the employer-sponsored market, current law dictates that workers are ineligible for tax subsidies on the Obamacare exchange if they have affordable employer-sponsored health coverage. This creates a “firewall” between employer-sponsored insurance plans and Obamacare marketplace plans.
However, the Biden administration is actively working to weaken this firewall by expanding eligibility for tax subsidies to disqualify patients from employer-sponsored insurance plans, which would force them to receive coverage from Obamacare and thereby increase Obamacare enrollment numbers. Moreover, the Biden administration is hellbent on layering burdensome and costly regulations on employer-sponsored health plans, removing their flexibility to offer competitive benefits and lower costs, all with the intent of making employer-sponsored health insurance less attractive for employers to invest in.
Employer-sponsored health insurance is better for patients, cost-effective for taxpayers, and widely popular among employees. That’s why Republicans are working to expand access and preserve Americans’ right to choose the coverage plan that best suits their specific needs.
• Virginia Foxx represents North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District and is chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
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