It has now been just over five months since the Supreme Court ruled The Affordable Care Act constitutional.  Although some time has passed since the ruling, many of us still have questions regarding the true meaning  for us as individuals and as employers. To help clear up some confusion concerning the healthcare reform, we’ve broken down several key questions to answer how each will apply to businesses and employees.

  • Will I need to purchase insurance for myself?  If you are self-employed and not already covered under your own policy or your spouse’s, Medicaid, or Medicare, you will most likely need to buy insurance starting in 2014. If you don’t have insurance at that time, you will face paying a penalty. An exception to this rule comes into play if you are unable to find health coverage that costs less than 8% of your previous year’s income; in this situation, you would be exempt from the mandate.
  • Will I be responsible for providing health insurance to all of my employees? This new law applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees who work a minimum of 30 hours per week in 2014. If your business does not meet this threshold, you will not need to provide health insurance.
  • Where will I be able to purchase health insurance? All states will be obligated to operate an online marketplace for individuals and small businesses (up to 100 employees) known as an insurance exchange.  Should a state happen to fall short on this requirement, the federal government will provide one.
  • What if I can’t afford health insurance? If you run a small business employing fewer than 25 workers who earn $50,000 per year, and you pay at least half of all employees’ coverage, and you may be eligible for a tax credit. This credit will range from as much as 35% of insurance costs in 2013 to up to 50% beginning in 2014.
  • What will happen if I don’t purchase insurance for myself or provide it for my employees? If you choose to not purchase health insurance for yourself and you are not exempt from the requirements, you will be subject to a penalty. This fine starts at $95 in 2014, goes up to $325 in 2015, $695 in 2016, and will rise with inflation in the years following. If you employ 50 or more workers, the calculations do become more complicated, but they will never be greater than the average cost of the lowest level coverage policy required by law.

Although these questions have been laid out in a cut-and-dry fashion, we understand that this is a complicated topic to understand thoroughly. The government has a website dedicated with more information concerning healthcare reform; we encourage all business owners to visit it today to answer your questions. If you need help with strategic staffing in Jackson,  contact Staffers today!

 

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