Despite it increasing their costs, a majority of Americans say they're not bothered by paying a surcharge if doing so enables more people to maintain or gain employee benefits, according to a recent survey.
Close to 7 in 10 respondents – 68 percent – said that they don't have a problem with a nominal fee attached to their health insurance bills to help pay for employer-provided coverage, financial information firm Bankrate found.
Doug Whiteman, insurance analyst at Bankrate, noted that this is good news for business owners looking to defray some of their added expenses.
"A few well-known local and national business leaders have floated the idea of adding a small surcharge to each bill in order to compensate for increasing health insurance costs," said Whiteman. "While most Americans may be able to swallow an extra 25 cents on their bill at their favorite restaurant, a sizable chunk – 22 percent – said they would stop going to the business. I can only imagine this number increasing if businesses try to charge too much."
The public remains largely divided about the wisdom of the Affordable Care Act and whether it will improve the nation's healthcare system. In the Bankrate survey, which was performed by Princeton Research Associates International, 45 percent wanted the ACA repealed while 44 percent wanted to keep it in place.
There are provisions within the ACA that shield consumers from having to pay a penalty for not having coverage. However, many have not acted on this reprieve. As of April 20, only about 77,000 families and individuals had requested to be exempt from the ACA, citing financial constraints, The Washington Post reported. Though all of the requests hadn't been vetted, permission was granted for all of those that had.
