CFO Studio Magazine - CFO Innovation Award Winners

2nd QUARTER 2015 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 29 T he Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010, created uncertainty for both employers and employees.The law, which mandates a level of coverage for all workers, has seen implementation postponed. Now, businesses with 100 or more employees in 2015must offer health insurance to at least 70 percent of their full-time employees (95 percent in 2016) that is affordable and provides minimum value—or face a potential penalty. With deadlines looming, financial executives gathered to share their ideas and concerns at a CFO Studio Executive Dinner Series event. The evening featured good food and drinks, and great networking, courtesy of WithumSmith+Brown, a regional accounting, tax, and advisory firm. Real Estate Strategies Corporation hosted, and Kevin Lenahan, vice president of finance and CFO of Atlantic Health System, Inc., led the discussion. Mr. Lenahan said that the ACA has created urgency for health care systems to transform aspects of their business models. For many companies, compliance with ACA provisions “is actually costing a lot of money in terms of time and energy used trying to figure out how you keep costs down,” said John Gerson, CFO, chief compliance officer, and manager of Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, an institutional real estate fund manager. Participants deplored the impact these costs are having on employees. “Some large corporations that had offered very nice plans have already cut back on [employee] benefits,” said Andrew Savadelis, CFO of Angion Biomedica, a biopharmaceutical company. “They’ve had to reduce their benefits and increase the price to the employees, so the employees are doubly whacked.” Vince Abate, CFO of Metem Corporation, a manufacturing company, said his business recently got a 30 percent premium increase in its Allentown facility. As a result, the company implemented an open-door policy with HR to help guide employees through health care choices. Nonprofit organizations are facing similar financial and coverage decisions. Jorge Diaz is the CFO of Alternatives, Inc., a social services agency with about 250 employees who work part-time. About one third of themwill qualify for coverage. In addition, the organization was recently hit with a 35 percent increase in its premium for 400 full-timers. Coping with Costs of Benefits Insurers have been offering employers plans that narrow the choice of providers in exchange for lower premiums. As an alternative, employers can have employees insured through the health insurance marketplaces, “the exchanges.” But Lalit Ahuwalia, CFO of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, called this a false choice. “You can have employees go into an exchange, which many companies don’t want to do yet because Wrangling With Health Care A C-level discussion of changes in employee benefits after the ACA CFO STUDIO EXECUTIVE DINNER SERIES The comments made by these guests are their own and may not reflect the opinions and/or policies of their companies or of CFO Studio, Real Estate Strategies Corporation, and/or its promotional partners. PROMOTIONAL PARTNER: L. to R.: Ed Sitar, Lalit Ahluwalia, John Breeman, Robert Glenning, Kevin Lenahan, Andew Zezas, Jorge Diaz