Democrats push back against controversial McKinsey study

Both the White House and Democrats in Congress have pushed back against the recent controversial findings by consultants McKinsey and Company on the effect the ACA will have on the number of employers providing employer-sponsored health coverage after 2014. As we discussed here last week, McKinsey's findings indicated that about 30% of employers may stop offering coverage once the bulk of the ACA's provisions become effective in 2014.

At the White House, Nancy-Ann DeParle, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff, countered with a list of three studies (by The Rand Corporation, The Urban Institute, and Mercer) predicting either much smaller drops in employer-sponsored coverage, or suggesting that not much will change.

In a stronger response, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, asked McKinsey representatives to meet with SFC staffers to explain the study's findings in detail. On June 16, Baucus announced that McKinsey has agreed to have that conversation. Baucus wants answers from McKinsey to questions on several aspects of the study, including who funded the study, and the nature of the sampling design for the survey.

A comprehensive analysis of the Affordable Care Act, including the full text of the law and additional information on health reform implementation, and other recent developments in employee benefits, is available here.