It's not just Papa John's pizza that's going to get more expensive under the new healt care law, a new survey of businesses found Wednesday.

Nearly two-thirds of employers expect to see a cost hike in their health plans when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect in 2014, and a quarter say they will have to make changes to their coverage to avoid penalties, according to the survey by the Mercer consulting firm.

Retail and hospitality industries, which typically employ larger numbers of part-time workers, are bracing for the biggest increase in costs -- 46% said they’re expecting costs to increase by a minimum of 3%. The healt care industry is close behind, with 40% expecting that increase in costs.

But very few employers surveyed -- 6% -- said they’re likely to drop health coverage altogether as a result of the law, leaving employees to use the exchanges or the individual market. The great majority said they’d keep what they have now.

The survey asked 1,203 employers to predict the costs of different parts of the healt care law.

A fifth of businesses said they employ workers who’d be eligible for coverage under the Medicaid expansion -- but, after the Supreme Court ruled that the expansion is optional, it’s still up in the air as to what that will mean for those employers.

“Because state Medicaid eligibility already varies greatly, it’s difficult to predict what states will do about expanding their programs to more individuals, and the impact of their decisions on employers,” Branch McNeal, leader of Mercer’s government consulting business, said.

One thing’s certain: After the Supreme Court decision, the majority of businesses are ready to move forward. The survey noted only 11% of employers are waiting until after the November elections to prepare for the healt care law’s implementation -- most are gearing up to comply with the law.

The survey of 1,203 employers was conducted by consulting firm Mercer.

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