Under the Affordable Care Act – otherwise known as Obamacare – employers must begin insuring their employees in 2014. The Act will create exchanges to allow businesses to compare health care plans, find answers to questions, and enroll in health plans or offer them to their employees. To aid small businesses, the government has created the SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) exchange for the self-employed and companies with fewer than 100 employees who are looking to buy insurance.
SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program)
Employers with 50 or more employees working at least 30 hours per week could face penalties whether or not they provide health coverage. Whereas, employers with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt from such penalties.
If employers with more than 50 employees fail to provide insurance and at least one employee obtains subsidized coverage from the exchange, the employer could face annual penalties of $2,000 per worker, with an exemption for the first 30 employees. If they do offer insurance but it is deemed “unaffordable” for the worker – meaning it costs more than 9.5% of household income – then that worker could receive tax credits to help pay for insurance coverage. This would result in a penalty provision of $3,000 per subsidized worker, not exceeding the cost if an employer did not offer insurance at all.
For employers with fewer than 25 employees where the average annual employee compensation does not exceed $50,000, providing health insurance to their employees has yielded subsidies since 2010. Next year these businesses will see their tax credits rise from 35% to 50% for the “for-profit” businesses and from 25% to 35% for the “not-for-profit” businesses.
For more information on employer penalties under Florida Obamacare and how they might affect your insurance policy, contact an agent today.
We are health insurance consultants / agents with many years of experience in the health insurance field and access to multiple health insurance company’s plans and pricing. We will work with each you to find the right group or individual health insurance plan to fit your needs and budget. Serving clients in and around Greater Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Florida and more. Contact us at 866-217-2873.
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