{mosads}It was not all good news, however.

The International Foundation noted that small employers are more likely to drop coverage because of the law.

And compared with last year, employers were gloomier about the law’s expected financial impact: a plurality (47.4 percent) estimated healthcare reform would increase their costs by 1-4 percent, while 16.8 percent predicted an increase of more than 10 percent.

Smaller employers tended to fall in the latter category. They were also more likely to report that ObamaCare is affecting hiring, firing and scheduling decisions.

Wednesday’s figures represent preliminary results of an annual survey of nearly 1,000 employee benefit professionals. Final results will come out in May.