One in five manufacturers in New York said they were reducing the number of their employees due to Obamacare, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The survey asked businesses how the Affordable Care Act has affected them, including questions about health coverage costs, how health plans would change under Obamacare, and how the Cadillac Tax would apply to their current health care plans.
The number of manufacturers who said they were cutting jobs totaled 20.9 percent. Nearly a third of New York manufacturers said they would increase prices they charge on their customers due to Obamacare. Almost 13 percent said they would increase the proportion of employees working part-time.
The survey asked service sector firms the same questions and found that 16.8 percent of them would cut workers, 21.4 percent would raise prices due to Obamacare, and 15 percent said they would increase the proportion of employees working part-time.
"About 60 percent of respondents to the surveys said they are making at least some changes to their health care plans in response to the Affordable Care Act," the New York Fed stated. "The most frequently cited adjustments were raising deductibles, boosting co-pays, and increasing out-of-pocket maximums."
Manufacturers and service firms estimated that their health coverage costs increased by 8.5 percent this year and are expecting a 10 percent increase next year.
"Firms were asked to identify the factors that have contributed most toward increasing or reducing health care costs," the report states. "Some of the more widely mentioned factors driving up costs included increased premiums from insurance providers, higher costs for prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, and an aging workforce."
"Fewer respondents listed factors contributing to lower costs, but those factors most frequently cited involved cost-sharing (for example, higher contributions, deductibles, and co-payments from employees.)"
A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson speaking on background denied claims that Obamacare is a job killer in an email, citing the 15 million jobs created by businesses since the Affordable Care Act became law.