Manufacturers Worry About Rising Health Care & Insurance Costs

The National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) second-quarter survey said that 82.2% of manufacturers identified rising health care and insurance costs as their top challenge, an increase from 74% in the previous survey, according to the Industry Week Survey of Manufacturers.

In addition, taxes and regulation, along with uncertainties related to the political climate, are major concerns.

“The manufacturing sector remains stuck in neutral as manufacturers continue to face a number of challenges and uncertainties dampening their ability to grow,” said Chad Moutray, NAM’s chief economist. “This quarter’s survey shows that manufacturers need solutions and certainty as concerns about rising healthcare costs climb and taxes and regulation remain a top challenge for growth.”

In a series of special questions on health care, nearly all respondents said that they offered insurance coverage to their employees, with 38% saying that they self-insured.

More than 56% were either not prepared or were uncertain about how their firm planned to implement the health care law next year. Also, 41.2% said that they were uncertain if their business would join a health insurance exchange later this year.