SAN FRANCISCO — Credit Union Journal asked attendees of the California and Nevada CU Leagues' Annual Meeting and Convention here how implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act-better known as Obamacare-is affecting their credit unions.
Eileen Rivera, president and CEO, SkyOne FCU, Hawthorne, Calif.
We have pretty rich plans in place already, and we cover most of the employees' costs, so they could join the exchanges but would not want to. I think because of costs we will have to pull back what we offer in a year or two. That is a little sad, but our costs keep going up. Certainly some senior management positions that have richer plans now will not in a few years.
Kathryn Davis, chief marketing officer, Xceed Financial CU, El Segundo, Calif.
Our rates for 2014 renewal have really gone up. The 3% increase was passed straight along to us. Somebody has to pay for all of the elements that come with the program and that is the companies. We are switching carriers because of the cost, which is a disruption, but we wanted to continue to offer the same level of coverage to our employees.
The other aspect is the confusion. We have a small HR department and they have had to spend a lot of time answering questions. They finally had to create an FAQ list.
Chuck Papenfus, president and CEO, Inland Valley FCU, Fontana, Calif.
At the moment we really do not know. We have a company that manages our healthcare, and we keep waiting to hear what the impact will be. We hear rates are going up, but the answer keeps changing. We are supposed to get an answer [soon].
We need to know because we are setting the budget for next year. We do not want employees' rates to go through the roof for the same coverage, but we do not want to have to absorb too much, either.
Suzanne Leedale, president and CEO, SLO CU, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
It has greatly impacted us. We have 4.5 employees-four full-time and one part-time. Our insurance company decided to no longer offer our plan. We had to move from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution plan. We will give employees a certain dollar amount to purchase medical, dental and vision. They get more choices, and can choose the plan that works best for them. The good part is our administration costs are less.
