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Brought to you by Insurance Center of New England, Inc. |
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Health Care Reform
Employer's Snapshot
March, 2010 - Vol V |
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| Need More Information? |
For previous editions of our Beyond Benefits newsletters just go to our website, from the link provided icnegroup.com.
If you have any questions regarding any of our Beyond Benefits topics, please contact Judy Davis at 750-7133.
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| How Health Care Reform will Affect Your Business |
On March 21, 2010, The House of Representatives passed a landmark health care reform that will affect how businesses administer health care benefits to their employees. The impact to each employer will depend on the size of their company. Beyond Benefits brings you a look at some of the provisions and their effects.
Businesses that have more than 50 employees must offer health insurance benefits or pay a tax penalty of $2,000 for every full-time employee. Businesses that have fewer than 50 employees will be exempt from the penalty. These changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014; the final rules could be changed by a reconciliation bill that must be approved by the Senate.
Larger businesses with over 200 employees will be required to enroll employees into their health care plans automatically. Employees will then have the choice to opt out of the plan.
Companies with 25 or fewer employees who meet certain wage requirements will also be able to get credits toward health insurance purchases. |
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| SHOPs, Grants & Taxes |
Small business owners, the self-employed and those who don't get work-provided coverage can get benefits through Small Business Health Options Programs (SHOPs). These state-run marketplace exchanges will work with carriers to pool insurance options, with the hope that costs will be lower for a larger, more powerful, group. The measure defines small businesses as organizations with 100 employees or less.
The legislation as passed would establish a grant program designed to help small and mid-sized employers create and broaden existing wellness programs. Grant program requirements include offering a wellness program to all employees and not basing financial incentives on wellness program participation.
Beginning in 2018, employers offering high-end health plans with premiums of more than $10,200 for an individual policy and $27,500 per family - not including vision and dental - would be subject to a 40% tax on the excess premium. The average cost of a family plan in 2009 was $13,375, with employees on average paying $3,515 and employers paying $9,860, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The excise tax would be paid by employers that self-insure (most large firms do) and insurance companies, but small-business experts expect these costs to be passed along to smaller firms via premium increases or reduced benefits. | |
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Insurance Center of New England's Beyond Benefits is providing this reference as general information only. It is not intended to be legal advice. |
 Insurance Center of New England, Inc. is a regional independent insurance agency providing full-service commercial and personal insurance protection and group employee benefits programs. Based in West Springfield, MA as Insurance Center of New England, Inc. and in Gardner, MA as Heritage Insurance Agency, we have satellite locations in Chelmsford, Danvers, Fitchburg, Lowell, Orange and Winchendon. |
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