Most employers are worried the Affordable Care Act will have a detrimental affect on their business and raise their health insurance costs this year, according to a new survey.

A study by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) of some 700 human resources and benefits professionals found more than half of employers are concerned ObamaCare will have a negative effect on their company and 90 percent expect the law to increase their cost of covering health insurance for their employees.

{mosads}“We are seeing firsthand how the Affordable Care Act has had major implications on employers and their employees,” said Michael Wilson, CEO of IFEBP. “Employers are taking a variety of actions to mitigate costs and in most cases are sharing the cost impact with their workforce.”

According to the report, more than a fifth of employers have increased copayments or coinsurance for primary care and/or increased employee proportions of dependent coverage costs.

The report also found the law has affected smaller employers, those with 50 or fewer workers, more than larger employers. Smaller employers have reduced their workforce, hours, frozen pay and compensation, and cut back new hires to counteract potential negative impacts to their business.

On the plus side, the number of respondents who said they would continue to offer healthcare coverage to full time employees has grown. In 2012, less than half of people said their companies would continue offering coverage but now almost three-fourth say they will continue to do so in 2015.