Many aspects of healthcare reform are expected to boost the cost of company-provided healthcare, including the removal of lifetime dollar limits, the pay-or-play requirement, the mandate to offer coverage to adult children and the requirement that companies auto enroll employees. Another source of costs has gotten less attention: Employers face new fees as a result of the law, and they are also likely to see cost increases that reflect the fees being levied on the providers of healthcare.

“There's just all sorts of fees,” says Tracy Watts, a partner and senior health care consultant at Mercer. “This challenge of cost is huge.”

Jane Jensen, a senior consulting actuary in the health and group benefits practice at Towers Watson, estimates that in 2014, fees might mean additional costs equal to 1.5% to 2% of plan costs for self-funded plans.