PPACA burdens HR managers

Who doesn’t love health care reform? Human resources managers, that’s who.

In testimony this week before a House subcommittee, Sally Roberts, speaking on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management, said the myriad administrative tasks reform has burdened HR with are actually devaluing health insurance benefits packages for those covered by some employer-sponsored plans.

She said SHRM members are reporting that they are investing far more time they should be making sure plans are compliant with tenets of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Additionally, employers are streamlining plans so that employees are offered fewer benefits and fewer overall coverage choices.

Bottom line: PPACA is adding to the cost of employee benefits.

“Effective health care reform should expand access to affordable coverage, but organizations should not have to change business practices and benefits in order to afford the required changes,” she said. “The ACA has made benefits much more complicated than they ever were before.”