Regardless, the tight labor market is helping reduce dependence on the federal program, said Joel Cantor, the founding director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
“The economy has increased employment rates and encouraged more firms to offer decent benefits in order to be competitive in labor markets,” he said.
While the ACA law doesn’t require small businesses to offer health coverage, more may now be doing so to attract and retain workers, he said.