Credit: Source: Flickr user Truthout.org.
Source: Flickr user Truthout.org.
The thing to remember with Obamacare is that primary care physicians are adjusting to the relatively new law right along with insurers and consumers. In the early going, there are quite a few physicians who simply aren't accepting Obamacare, mainly for fear that the payment they receive from insurers and the patient won't cover the costs of services rendered. Yet this narrow network of providers who are accepting Obamacare health insurance could give businesses an edge when it comes to negotiating a great deal for their employees, leading to cost savings for the business and consumers.
In fact, a study released in 2014 from the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that a good portion of employees who were incentivized to go on an employer's narrow-network plan actually saved money. Based on the findings, narrow-network members were more likely to see their primary care physician, and less likely to wind up in the emergency room seeking care.
3. Cutting jobs or hours
Lastly, businesses could choose to cut expenses the old-fashioned way: by cutting jobs or hours.
Source: Flickr user Timothy Krause.
Cutting jobs is a pretty cut-and-dried way of reducing costs, although jettisoning employees in order to save money could put businesses at a disadvantage when the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders. Cutting jobs in lieu of Obamacare could also bring a consumer-facing company a wave of bad PR.
That didn't seem to matter to medical device maker Stryker , which cut 1,170 jobs in 2012 in order to save $100 million annually. To be clear, Stryker's cuts were the result of the 2.3% medical device excise tax, but it demonstrates that big companies aren't going to be shy about cutting costs if expenses tied to Obamacare rise.
A more subtle way of getting around Obamacare for businesses is to simply cut hours. According to the ACA, businesses of 50 or more full-time employees are required to follow the employer mandate. But businesses aren't required to provide anything for part-time employees, defined as those who average less than 30 hours a week of work. In response to expected higher costs from Obamacare, Regal Entertainment , the nation's largest movie theater operator, slashed thousands of employees' hours from full-time down to part-time to ensure it would have no chance at being penalized under Obamacare.
Could there be other tools that businesses employ to reduce their exposure and costs to Obamacare? It's possible, but I'd key in on these three as being the ones to watch going forward.
The $60K Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook
If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could ensure a boost in your retirement income of as much as $60,000. In fact, one MarketWatch reporter argues that if more Americans used them, the government would have to shell out an extra $10 billion… every year! And once you learn how to take advantage of these loopholes, you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to receive your free copy of our new report that details how you can take advantage of these strategies.
The article 3 Ways Businesses Could Deal With Rising Obamacare Costs in 2016 originally appeared on Fool.com.
Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen nameTMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen nameTrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle@TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Copyright © 1995 - 2015 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
