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What Small Businesses Need to Do for Obamacare Before Oct. 1
The health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act will open on Oct. 1. Most small employers-those with 50 or fewer full-time employees - are not required to offer health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Even businesses with more than 50 full-time employees have been given a one-year reprieve from penalties if they don't offer insurance.
All companies, regardless of size,
are required to notify their employees
about the Obamacare marketplaces.
The state and federal insurance exchanges are websites on which individuals and small businesses can shop for health plans.
Though the deadline is less than a month away, many small businesses don't know they have to notify employees.
Many small business owners are unaware of the requirement or are under the misconception that it doesn't apply to them because they're too small to be governed by the health-care reform law's mandate.
It's not clear how the requirement will be enforced, but penalties for businesses that don't comply could reach $100 per worker per day.
An employer with 10 employees typically says, "I don't have to worry about it, because I don't have to offer insurance". A lot of them are going to miss the deadline and be unpleasantly surprised when they do.
The notification requirement applies
to any business with at least -
one employee and $500,000 in annual revenue.
There are no exceptions for small employers, which means nearly everybody has to get out this notice to their employees.
The U.S. Department of Labor has posted information about the notification requirement on its website and has provided model notices that can be used both by employers who offer insurance (PDF) and by those who do not offer insurance (PDF).
The one- to three-page model notices can be downloaded, filled out, and printed, either for distribution in the office or for mailing to employees' homes.
employers who offer insurance (PDF)
employers who do not offer insurance (PDF)
Employees who come on board after Oct. 1 must get the notice within 14 days of their start date with the company. The safest route is to put it in the U.S. mail or follow the instructions for distributing it electronically. The employer obligation is met at that point.
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