Check your facts, McKinsey

A McKinsey & Co. report claiming between one-third and one-half of employers plan to “definitely” or “probably” stop providing health-insurance plans to employees in 2014 has ruffled some feathers among politicians.

The report, which was released in early June and referenced in this column on June 16, was compiled from 1,200 employer responses, and predicted major changes will occur once the Affordable Care Act takes effect in 2014. Among other complaints, critics have taken issue with the report’s suggestion that businesses will pay a penalty in lieu of providing employees with health care, or that they will circumvent the requirement that they provide employees with health care, according to political journal The New Republic.

That claim goes against projections from the Congressional Budget Office, the RAND Corp. and the Urban Institute. Even a few McKinsey insiders have admitted the survey’s predictions may not be accurate.