An expert insurance adviser will help you understand all of your health insurance obligations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As a small-business owner, your task is to find ways to rise above the fray and provide health care solutions for your company. To cut through the confusion, understanding your obligations is critical to using the ACA’s small-business provisions to your company’s advantage.
Do All Small Businesses Have to Offer Health Insurance or Pay a Tax Penalty?
Broadly speaking, the ACA states that businesses with 50 full-time employees or less do not have to pay a tax penalty for not offering health insurance to employees. The caveat is that the ACA takes a different approach as to which workers count as full-time employees. For example, the ACA consolidates part-time workers (defined as employees working less than 30 hours per week – not 40 hours per week) into “full-time equivalent employees,” which count towards a small business’s 50-employee threshold.
Defined-Contribution Plans
The ACA has had a significant impact on how employers go about getting insurance for their companies. Group health insurance premiums and deductibles are continuing to rise, which only makes obtaining coverage for your employees more difficult to manage. To control costs over the long term, many small business owners are turning to defined-contribution health plans to manage the rising cost of health insurance. To determine whether a Defined-Contribution plan is right for your organization, please see our Defined-Contribution guide, or if you would like to simply learn more, please see our Defined-Contribution Frequently Asked Questions section.
Your company may do well managing rising health care costs today, but with changes coming to the ACA over the next few years, you will need an insurance specialist to offer sound advice. Otherwise, you may have to pay the penalty for not meeting the ACA’s minimum requirements for employers.
The ACA presents small businesses with several options – and financial obligations in many cases. To cut through the confusion and understand your options thoroughly, a knowledgeable insurance adviser will help you leverage the ACA to your company’s advantage.
We can help you find a Small Business Health Plan that works for you. Contact us today!
