Employers that opt out of Obamacare can expect to pay $173.33 per employee per month in 2015.
And those that offer plans that are considered too pricey or inadequate should plan to fork over $260 per employee per month.
Those are the figures contained in a new report from Mercer projecting the costs to employers that fail to offer insurance to workers in 2015, or whose plans do not meet the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (PPACA's) standards for affordability or minimum value.
The report also looked at deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for several models of health plans.
PPACA's "play or pay" mandate, officially known as the Employer Shared Responsibility provision, requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to make a payment if they do not provide health care coverage to most of their employees. The provision goes into effect on Jan. 15, 2015. For employers who offer coverage that does not meet minimum standards of affordability or value, there is also a penalty.
Mercer's report noted that the IRS has not yet announced these monthly costs for 2015, but said its analysts had come up with projections based on IRS data and the final regulations released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
