Employers move beyond 'wait and see' approach to health care

Most employers — 77 percent — say they are well along in terms of keeping current with PPACA provisions, with 60 percent stating they are either "very" or "extremely" far along in terms of preparing for future PPACA provisions.

Aside from the organization's health care focus shifting to legislative compliance (57 percent), most employers are shifting their attention to wellness (52 percent), value-based health care (40 percent) and consumer-driven health plans (26 percent).

Earlier research from IFEBP found that seven in 10 U.S. employers offer wellness programs.

When the exchanges are put into effect in 2014, 25 percent of respondents say they're likely to direct only some employees to the exchanges while continuing to provide coverage for others as opposed to dropping coverage for all employees.

"One can assume that the 63 percent of organizations that will most likely provide a subsidy to those employees that were shifted to the exchanges are sensitive to promoting employee loyalty," says Julie Stich, the International Foundation's director of research.

Additionally, the survey found 11 percent of employers plan to reduce their work force due to overall costs directly associated with health reform, while another 5 percent will reduce hiring to stay under 50-employee PPACA threshold. About half of employers say they have no plans to add or reduce the workforce.