Health Care Reform Guidelines for Small Business
If you do not currently offer benefits to employees and don’t want to start, under the new Health Care Reform guidelines you are not required to offer health insurance if you have less than 50 employees. If you have more than 50 employees, you do not face any penalties for not offering coverage until 2015.
If you do not currently offer benefits and want to explore your options, contact us. There will be choice both on and off the Federal Exchange/Marketplace.
Evaluating Your Health Insurance Coverage Options
If you currently have a health insurance plan, you can stay on that plan until your renewal date in 2014. At that time, you would then move to a PPACA-compliant plan either on the small business (SHOP) exchange or with a private insurance carrier (similar to what you have now). You may receive notification from your insurance carrier of the option for an “extended renewal” of your current plan through December 1, 2014. This allows you to ensure that you will be able to continue your current plan at the offered rates through the end of November 2013. Based on your situation, you may or may not want to accept this offer – factors to consider are your current rates, any estimated PPACA rate percentage change given to you, and whether or not you are in a high deductible plan.
Employers currently with health insurance benefit plans may want to consider dropping their plan and giving employees stipends to get their own coverage on the Federal Exchange (and possibly qualify for income-based tax subsidies). The downside is that the employer would lose some tax advantages and the employees would be paying premiums with post-tax dollar.
Contact us to discuss your situation.
By: Liz Kennon