A constricting labor market, increasing cost and slimming individual health insurance choices have led some small business owners to reinstate group health insurance plans, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Some small business owners opted to give their employees a raise to purchase insurance individually rather than shoulder the cost of group plans and the logistics of choosing a plan. In addition, some small businesses dropped group plans in favor of individual coverage because their employees could receive government subsidies, according to the report.
However, with transitional rules under the Affordable Care Act coming to an end this year and premium increases and insurer exits plaguing the individual market, the affordability of an individual option is questionable. According to Michael Stahl, a senior vice president at the insurance agency HealthMarkets, the trajectory of choosing individual plans over group plans is slowing. Instead, "we are seeing a reverse migration back from individual to group," he told The Wall Street Journal.
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