Makini Howell, owner of Seattle's Plum Bistro and supporter of the Affordable Care Act, started providing health insurance for most of her employees after passage of the 2010 U.S. health-reform law. While her coverage costs are significant, Howell anticipated that lower rates would bring relief in 2014, when competitive, state-based, small-business insurance exchanges, or online marketplaces, formed under the ACA are scheduled to be up and running nationwide.
That plan, however, has hit a snag for Howell and other small business owners in Washington state, which didn't attract enough interest from carriers to launch a statewide small-business health insurance marketplace in 2014. As a result, these businesses face some uncertainty and the likelihood of a one-year delay in that long-awaited premium relief.
"I don't want to drop insurance for our employees, so then that's kind of the question, what are we going to do, and it's putting an undue burden on small businesses for insurance companies to be behaving the way they are," says Howell.
In the rest of the country, however, most states are expected to have competitive small-business exchanges next year that will give employers with 50 or fewer full-time workers access to more affordable, high-quality health plans and, for some businesses, tax credits.
In fact, experts say, all but one or two of the 18 state-operated exchanges will enable small businesses to offer employees a selection of health plans in 2014 – an option long enjoyed by workers at large companies -- even though the federal government has allowed states to wait until 2015 to provide for small-business "employee choice." Federally run SHOP exchanges won't have employee choice until 2015, although businesses themselves should have multiple options.
Competitive Markets Anticipated
The ACA, known informally as Obamacare, calls for state-based, small-business exchanges -- Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, marketplaces -- to start enrolling participating employers on Oct. 1 for qualified coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2014 or later; the same dates apply to similar exchanges for individuals and families, many of whom will qualify for significant tax credits and subsidies. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia will run their own exchanges, while others are letting the federal government operate theirs or are working in partnership with U.S. agencies.
Because of the income-based subsidies for individuals, and because insurers must issue coverage to anyone regardless of health status starting Jan. 1, 2014, millions of people are expected to enter the health insurance market, which may make the individual exchanges more attractive to carriers than the small-business SHOP marketplaces.
Washington state expects a competitive marketplace for individuals next year through its Washington Healthplanfinder exchange, where the approval of 41 plans from four carriers means individuals in most of the state should be able to choose from two dozen plans. However, after initial interest from carriers, only one health insurer applied to sell small-employer plans in Washington's exchange in 2014, and in only two counties, Clark and Cowlitz, where they'll operate as pilot programs.
Small businesses in most of the state, including Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, won't have access to an exchange marketplace in 2014, although they'll continue to be able to purchase coverage through traditional routes, such as brokers. Proponents do expect Washington to have an active statewide small-business exchange in 2015.
Variations by State, Carriers Skittish
While Washington state is an outlier, development of the small-business health exchanges vary, depending on politics and existing laws and markets in each state.
A June report from the Urban Institute on small-business exchanges in six states found that five -- Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Colorado and New York -- had "aggressively pursued implementation of state-based SHOP exchanges." According to the report, these states planned to move forward with employee choice despite federal guidance providing for a delay, citing benefits such as increased options and streamline administration. That said, while carrier interest in each of the six states appeared high, insurers weren't yet required to make a commitment at the time of the report.
"The overwhelming message we're hearing from the field in states where we're on the ground is excitement about what the new marketplaces will have to offer small businesses," said Joshua Welter, spokesman for the pro-reform Main Street Alliance.
Adds Kevin Lucia, a senior research fellow at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms, "I think generally the indications are that what we're seeing in these states is actually happening in other states," he said.
State and federal governments have tools to encourage participation in the small-business exchanges.
In states with federally facilitated SHOPs, for instance, insurers with more than a 20 percent share of the small-business market will have to participate in the SHOP if they want to offer coverage in the state's individual exchange. In Maryland, carriers with more than a $20 million share of the small-group market must participate in the state exchange.
Expectations of competitive SHOP exchanges don't mean preparations are running smoothly everywhere, or that carriers aren't skittish.
Deutsche Bank managed-care analyst Scott Fidel, in research notes this summer, reported that several major carriers have expressed caution about participating next year in exchanges, where they face new, uncertain operating environments. UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the largest U.S. health insurers, is expected to participate in only eight of the small-group exchanges next year, he noted.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced it wouldn't participate in public exchanges in Iowa and South Dakota, where the company dominates the individual and small-group markets, until the 2015 open enrollment period.
SHOP-less In Seattle
Meanwhile, in Seattle, small business owners such as Plum Bistro's Howell face a quandary. Her four-year-old business is receiving a federal tax credit this year under the ACA for offering coverage to most of her 20 employees but she still pays $4,000 a month for workers' health insurance, "which is high for a small business," she says. The restaurant pays 75 percent of employees' premiums for the coverage, which includes medical, dental and vision care.
If Plum Bistro can't join a SHOP exchange next year, it's unclear if the restaurant will be eligible for a health insurance tax credit. From 2010 to 2013, the ACA allowed tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums paid for certain businesses with fewer than 25 full-time-equivalent workers. In 2014, the maximum credit rises to 50 percent, but businesses will have to buy coverage through the SHOP plans. A Kaiser Family Foundation profile of Washington exchanges said the carriers that initially showed interest withdrew "due to concerns about operational readiness and risk.
Stephanie Marquis, state insurance commissioner spokeswoman, says the office's understanding is that insurers "chose to spend their energy on the individual market. All of the companies had to submit completely new plans and meet new federal requirements – all in a very short timeline. It was an extremely tight timeline with federal guidance coming late in many cases."
The Main Street Alliance's Welter suggested some association health plans in Washington state, which have operated under different rules than traditional small-business plans, may be timing contract renewals to allow another year to comply with new ACA regulations, giving insurers little incentive to enter a small-business exchange.
"This dynamic that we are seeing in a handful of states like Washington, where the insurance industry is slow-walking to a reformed marketplace, is one of the reasons why our organization so strongly advocated for small businesses to have the choice of a public health insurance option during the debate about the Affordable Care Act," Welter says. "A public option in an exchange would have been the very driver of competition among private health plans."
While roughly 45 million Americans struggle to access medical care, turns out many pets can access high-end medical treatments such as kidney transplants or acupuncture -- thanks to the growing availability of pet insurance. Even Wal-Mart has dipped its toe in pet health insurance, albeit in Canada.
Forget wrangling about Obamacare. Turns out Fido and Whiskers may be getting better care than humans.
The U.S. pet products sector -- which encompasses everything from pet accessories to luxury in-flight veterinary care -- has created a $55 billion industry, according to the American Pet Products Association. People's love for their pets has also created the need for more complex medical procedures -- a growing demand pet insurers hope to fill.
People are buying pet insurance as they're treating their pets like family members, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the oldest and the largest pet insurance provider in the U.S.
Founded in 1982, VPI has cornered more than 50 percent of the market. During the past 20 years, for example, dogs have moved from the backyard into the living room into the bedroom, said Adam Fell, a VPI spokesman.
"Basically, anything that somebody can do to a human, a veterinarian can do to your pet," Fell said. "But with that comes the increase in cost."
The growing demand for pet insurance
The estimated size of the North American pet insurance industry is close to $500 million, with an average growth rate of 13 percent a year, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Estimated spending on vet care will increase 4 percent this year to $14.2 billion, according to the pet product association.
The pet insurance industry is forecast to grow organically as consumers get more familiar with pet insurance brands. The sector should also benefit as more companies add pet insurance to their portfolio of employee benefits, said Kristen Lynch, executive director of the pet health insurance association.
Earlier this year, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores began offering pet insurance to its customers in select stores in Canada, Lynch said. Walmart Pet Health Insurance is offered and underwritten by Western Financial Insurance.
The fastest growing segment of VPI is voluntarily pet insurance, as more employers are offering the option as an employee perk. More than 3,000 companies offer VPI pet insurance, including one-third of the Fortune 500 companies, according to VPI. It is part of the Nationwide Insurance networkand has insured 485,000 pets across the country.
Petplan: Pet insurance startup
With so much growth on the horizon, startups have begun sniffing around pet insurance.
Entrepreneur Chris Ashton founded Petplan, a Philadelphia-based pet insurance small business, with his wife Natasha. Less than 1 percent of America's 160 million cats and dogs are insured, leaving lots of room for growth, he said.
The Ashtons came from the U.K. to work on their masters in business administration at Philadelphia's Wharton Business School in 2002. But then their white, fluffy Birman cat, Bodey, got sick. The vet bill came in at close to $5,000, forcing the MBA students to max out on their credit cards and downsize to a smaller apartment.
The Ashtons searched for a better way to deal with vet bills and eventually founded their own company in 2004. The couple managed to get an exclusive license for the U.S. and Canada from Britain's Petplan, a large pet insurer in the U.K. The Ashtons also got access to Petplan's insurance claims, which helped to create a tiered pet insurance pricing model based on the risk, instead of a one-price-fits-all approach. Monthly premiums average about $30.
Petplan has been profitable for four years, with annual revenue of $40 million in 2012. The company has more 100 employees, and has attracted investors from Europe and the U.S.
Beyond startups and Wal-Mart, other businesses have branched out into the pet health insurance industry. Cabela's is an outdoor gear retailer. The Sidney, Neb.-based company launched Cabela Pet Insurance in 2011. Cabela customers, outdoor and hunting enthusiasts, wanted to take care of their pets as well.
But overall, there hasn't been a flood of pet insurance startups because of the high bar of entry. Starting a U.S. pet insurance business is challenging in part because the U.S. insurance system requires individual state licenses for pet insurance businesses.
Entrepreneurship guru: Need the 'spirit of a pirate' William Aulet, Martin Trust for Entreprenuership, MIT, discusses what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how people come up with breakthrough ideas. The data shows people are better off in their second ventures, he says.
Diana Goodrich, 59, from Dunedin, Fla., decided to get Petplan insurance for her Alaskan Malamute, Shadow, after some of her vet bills with a previous pet ran into the thousands of dollars. During the past five years with Petplan, Shadow had several extensive treatments and tests. He now gets acupuncture treatment every few months for his epilepsy. Petplan reimbursed her nearly $3,000 or 68 percent of the $4,335 in vet bills. She also pays $30 a month for the insurance.
"What I like is that they [Petplan] do authorize alternative methods and also that you can select wherever that you want to go to, you are not limited," Goodrich said.
Lynch of the pet health insurance association said that people treat their pets as family members and are willing to spend more on a pet's nutrition or vet bills. "Insurance becomes an obvious choice to people who value their pet at that level."
Don't know whether your firm is big enough to be subject to Obamacare's main provisions? Confused about how to count your seasonal workers in determining your business's size? Many of the answers to your most pressing questions about the sweeping health reform law may be at your fingertips.
We've assembled links to a few online resources that may help guide small-business owners as major provisions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect in the coming months.
1. The Basics
Those just getting started should consult a special portal for health-reform resources added to the government's small-business information clearinghouse Business USA. Through an interactive tool on Business.USA.gov/healthcare, businesses can provide information on their size, location and insurance needs to generate a customized list of articles prepared by agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration.
Many of those users will arrive at the federal government's revamped health-reform website, HealthCare.gov, and its section specifically for small businesses. This site includes a live-chat feature that can connect you to a chat assistant in minutes, a click-through questionnaire to provide guidance, Q&As on the law's basics, and information on what you need to know if your business already provides coverage.
Recent must reads: How can I get ready for SHOP?, outlining the steps needed to prepare for Oct. 1 and enrollment in the new health-care marketplaces; and What is the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment?, a rundown on financial obligations to be imposed on some large businesses that don’t offer coverage meeting at least minimum standards. The government recently delayed these payments to January 2015. The page includes a link to a minimum value calculator to see if your coverage meets requirements, and guidance on whether it's affordable for your employees.
2. Mythbusting
While content on the government's Small Business Administration site can overlap with HealthCare.gov, its blog is worth a read. Articles bust Obamacare "myths," detail key ACA terms that small businesses should know and note new incentives for workplace wellness programs.
Recent must reads: A piece last month debunked the misconception that Obamacare won't affect employers in states without their own insurance marketplaces. Another article, Self-Employed? Learn What the Affordable Care Act Means for You, outlines the coverage options available to self-employed business owners. The SBA also recently announced that, in conjunction with the Small Business Majority -- an organization that pushed for Obamacare -- it is holding an Affordable Care Act 101 weekly webinar series on Thursdays.
3. Charts, graphs and interactive features
The Kaiser Family Foundation's health reform page features articles, poll results, infographics and FAQs, as well as interactive tools including a subsidy calculator which may be useful for solo entrepreneurs as well as those with employees. The site also gives an up-to-date status of each state's progress in establishing health-insurance marketplaces, also known as exchanges. Quizzes test business owners' knowledge on the law, with the results easily sharable on social media.
Recent must read: Employer Responsibility Under the Affordable Care Act: This infographic gives employers a concise snapshot of their obligations under the law.
4. Videos
The National Federation of Independent Business, which led the legal fight against Obamacare, has a series of nuts-and-bolts "healthcare minute" videos and articles on what employers may need to do to comply. While NFIB's site contains a big dose of criticism for Obamacare, it also offers useful interactive features such as a healthcare tax-credit calculator.
Recent must read: In one short video and summary, How are Seasonal Workers Counted? NFIB spokesman Kevin Kuhlman explains that seasonal employees count toward a business's number of "full-time equivalent" workers, which might help classify an employer as "large" and potentially subject to penalties.
That plan, however, has hit a snag for Howell and other small business owners in Washington state, which didn't attract enough interest from carriers to launch a statewide small-business health insurance marketplace in 2014. As a result, these businesses face some uncertainty and the likelihood of a one-year delay in that long-awaited premium relief.
"I don't want to drop insurance for our employees, so then that's kind of the question, what are we going to do, and it's putting an undue burden on small businesses for insurance companies to be behaving the way they are," says Howell.
In the rest of the country, however, most states are expected to have competitive small-business exchanges next year that will give employers with 50 or fewer full-time workers access to more affordable, high-quality health plans and, for some businesses, tax credits.
In fact, experts say, all but one or two of the 18 state-operated exchanges will enable small businesses to offer employees a selection of health plans in 2014 – an option long enjoyed by workers at large companies -- even though the federal government has allowed states to wait until 2015 to provide for small-business "employee choice." Federally run SHOP exchanges won't have employee choice until 2015, although businesses themselves should have multiple options.
Competitive Markets Anticipated
The ACA, known informally as Obamacare, calls for state-based, small-business exchanges -- Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, marketplaces -- to start enrolling participating employers on Oct. 1 for qualified coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2014 or later; the same dates apply to similar exchanges for individuals and families, many of whom will qualify for significant tax credits and subsidies. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia will run their own exchanges, while others are letting the federal government operate theirs or are working in partnership with U.S. agencies.
Because of the income-based subsidies for individuals, and because insurers must issue coverage to anyone regardless of health status starting Jan. 1, 2014, millions of people are expected to enter the health insurance market, which may make the individual exchanges more attractive to carriers than the small-business SHOP marketplaces.
Washington state expects a competitive marketplace for individuals next year through its Washington Healthplanfinder exchange, where the approval of 41 plans from four carriers means individuals in most of the state should be able to choose from two dozen plans. However, after initial interest from carriers, only one health insurer applied to sell small-employer plans in Washington's exchange in 2014, and in only two counties, Clark and Cowlitz, where they'll operate as pilot programs.
Small businesses in most of the state, including Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane, won't have access to an exchange marketplace in 2014, although they'll continue to be able to purchase coverage through traditional routes, such as brokers. Proponents do expect Washington to have an active statewide small-business exchange in 2015.
Variations by State, Carriers Skittish
While Washington state is an outlier, development of the small-business health exchanges vary, depending on politics and existing laws and markets in each state.
A June report from the Urban Institute on small-business exchanges in six states found that five -- Maryland, Oregon, Rhode Island, Colorado and New York -- had "aggressively pursued implementation of state-based SHOP exchanges." According to the report, these states planned to move forward with employee choice despite federal guidance providing for a delay, citing benefits such as increased options and streamline administration. That said, while carrier interest in each of the six states appeared high, insurers weren't yet required to make a commitment at the time of the report.
"The overwhelming message we're hearing from the field in states where we're on the ground is excitement about what the new marketplaces will have to offer small businesses," said Joshua Welter, spokesman for the pro-reform Main Street Alliance.
Adds Kevin Lucia, a senior research fellow at Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms, "I think generally the indications are that what we're seeing in these states is actually happening in other states," he said.
State and federal governments have tools to encourage participation in the small-business exchanges.
In states with federally facilitated SHOPs, for instance, insurers with more than a 20 percent share of the small-business market will have to participate in the SHOP if they want to offer coverage in the state's individual exchange. In Maryland, carriers with more than a $20 million share of the small-group market must participate in the state exchange.
Expectations of competitive SHOP exchanges don't mean preparations are running smoothly everywhere, or that carriers aren't skittish.
Deutsche Bank managed-care analyst Scott Fidel, in research notes this summer, reported that several major carriers have expressed caution about participating next year in exchanges, where they face new, uncertain operating environments. UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the largest U.S. health insurers, is expected to participate in only eight of the small-group exchanges next year, he noted.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced it wouldn't participate in public exchanges in Iowa and South Dakota, where the company dominates the individual and small-group markets, until the 2015 open enrollment period.
SHOP-less In Seattle
Meanwhile, in Seattle, small business owners such as Plum Bistro's Howell face a quandary. Her four-year-old business is receiving a federal tax credit this year under the ACA for offering coverage to most of her 20 employees but she still pays $4,000 a month for workers' health insurance, "which is high for a small business," she says. The restaurant pays 75 percent of employees' premiums for the coverage, which includes medical, dental and vision care.
If Plum Bistro can't join a SHOP exchange next year, it's unclear if the restaurant will be eligible for a health insurance tax credit. From 2010 to 2013, the ACA allowed tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums paid for certain businesses with fewer than 25 full-time-equivalent workers. In 2014, the maximum credit rises to 50 percent, but businesses will have to buy coverage through the SHOP plans. A Kaiser Family Foundation profile of Washington exchanges said the carriers that initially showed interest withdrew "due to concerns about operational readiness and risk.
Stephanie Marquis, state insurance commissioner spokeswoman, says the office's understanding is that insurers "chose to spend their energy on the individual market. All of the companies had to submit completely new plans and meet new federal requirements – all in a very short timeline. It was an extremely tight timeline with federal guidance coming late in many cases."
The Main Street Alliance's Welter suggested some association health plans in Washington state, which have operated under different rules than traditional small-business plans, may be timing contract renewals to allow another year to comply with new ACA regulations, giving insurers little incentive to enter a small-business exchange.
"This dynamic that we are seeing in a handful of states like Washington, where the insurance industry is slow-walking to a reformed marketplace, is one of the reasons why our organization so strongly advocated for small businesses to have the choice of a public health insurance option during the debate about the Affordable Care Act," Welter says. "A public option in an exchange would have been the very driver of competition among private health plans."
While roughly 45 million Americans struggle to access medical care, turns out many pets can access high-end medical treatments such as kidney transplants or acupuncture -- thanks to the growing availability of pet insurance. Even Wal-Mart has dipped its toe in pet health insurance, albeit in Canada.
Forget wrangling about Obamacare. Turns out Fido and Whiskers may be getting better care than humans.
The U.S. pet products sector -- which encompasses everything from pet accessories to luxury in-flight veterinary care -- has created a $55 billion industry, according to the American Pet Products Association. People's love for their pets has also created the need for more complex medical procedures -- a growing demand pet insurers hope to fill.
People are buying pet insurance as they're treating their pets like family members, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the oldest and the largest pet insurance provider in the U.S.
Founded in 1982, VPI has cornered more than 50 percent of the market. During the past 20 years, for example, dogs have moved from the backyard into the living room into the bedroom, said Adam Fell, a VPI spokesman.
"Basically, anything that somebody can do to a human, a veterinarian can do to your pet," Fell said. "But with that comes the increase in cost."
The growing demand for pet insurance
The estimated size of the North American pet insurance industry is close to $500 million, with an average growth rate of 13 percent a year, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Estimated spending on vet care will increase 4 percent this year to $14.2 billion, according to the pet product association.
The pet insurance industry is forecast to grow organically as consumers get more familiar with pet insurance brands. The sector should also benefit as more companies add pet insurance to their portfolio of employee benefits, said Kristen Lynch, executive director of the pet health insurance association.
Earlier this year, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores began offering pet insurance to its customers in select stores in Canada, Lynch said. Walmart Pet Health Insurance is offered and underwritten by Western Financial Insurance.
The fastest growing segment of VPI is voluntarily pet insurance, as more employers are offering the option as an employee perk. More than 3,000 companies offer VPI pet insurance, including one-third of the Fortune 500 companies, according to VPI. It is part of the Nationwide Insurance networkand has insured 485,000 pets across the country.
Petplan: Pet insurance startup
With so much growth on the horizon, startups have begun sniffing around pet insurance.
Entrepreneur Chris Ashton founded Petplan, a Philadelphia-based pet insurance small business, with his wife Natasha. Less than 1 percent of America's 160 million cats and dogs are insured, leaving lots of room for growth, he said.
The Ashtons came from the U.K. to work on their masters in business administration at Philadelphia's Wharton Business School in 2002. But then their white, fluffy Birman cat, Bodey, got sick. The vet bill came in at close to $5,000, forcing the MBA students to max out on their credit cards and downsize to a smaller apartment.
The Ashtons searched for a better way to deal with vet bills and eventually founded their own company in 2004. The couple managed to get an exclusive license for the U.S. and Canada from Britain's Petplan, a large pet insurer in the U.K. The Ashtons also got access to Petplan's insurance claims, which helped to create a tiered pet insurance pricing model based on the risk, instead of a one-price-fits-all approach. Monthly premiums average about $30.
Petplan has been profitable for four years, with annual revenue of $40 million in 2012. The company has more 100 employees, and has attracted investors from Europe and the U.S.
Beyond startups and Wal-Mart, other businesses have branched out into the pet health insurance industry. Cabela's is an outdoor gear retailer. The Sidney, Neb.-based company launched Cabela Pet Insurance in 2011. Cabela customers, outdoor and hunting enthusiasts, wanted to take care of their pets as well.
But overall, there hasn't been a flood of pet insurance startups because of the high bar of entry. Starting a U.S. pet insurance business is challenging in part because the U.S. insurance system requires individual state licenses for pet insurance businesses.
Entrepreneurship guru: Need the 'spirit of a pirate' William Aulet, Martin Trust for Entreprenuership, MIT, discusses what it takes to be an entrepreneur and how people come up with breakthrough ideas. The data shows people are better off in their second ventures, he says.
Diana Goodrich, 59, from Dunedin, Fla., decided to get Petplan insurance for her Alaskan Malamute, Shadow, after some of her vet bills with a previous pet ran into the thousands of dollars. During the past five years with Petplan, Shadow had several extensive treatments and tests. He now gets acupuncture treatment every few months for his epilepsy. Petplan reimbursed her nearly $3,000 or 68 percent of the $4,335 in vet bills. She also pays $30 a month for the insurance.
"What I like is that they [Petplan] do authorize alternative methods and also that you can select wherever that you want to go to, you are not limited," Goodrich said.
Lynch of the pet health insurance association said that people treat their pets as family members and are willing to spend more on a pet's nutrition or vet bills. "Insurance becomes an obvious choice to people who value their pet at that level."
Don't know whether your firm is big enough to be subject to Obamacare's main provisions? Confused about how to count your seasonal workers in determining your business's size? Many of the answers to your most pressing questions about the sweeping health reform law may be at your fingertips.
We've assembled links to a few online resources that may help guide small-business owners as major provisions of the Affordable Care Act go into effect in the coming months.
1. The Basics
Those just getting started should consult a special portal for health-reform resources added to the government's small-business information clearinghouse Business USA. Through an interactive tool on Business.USA.gov/healthcare, businesses can provide information on their size, location and insurance needs to generate a customized list of articles prepared by agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration.
Many of those users will arrive at the federal government's revamped health-reform website, HealthCare.gov, and its section specifically for small businesses. This site includes a live-chat feature that can connect you to a chat assistant in minutes, a click-through questionnaire to provide guidance, Q&As on the law's basics, and information on what you need to know if your business already provides coverage.
Recent must reads: How can I get ready for SHOP?, outlining the steps needed to prepare for Oct. 1 and enrollment in the new health-care marketplaces; and What is the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment?, a rundown on financial obligations to be imposed on some large businesses that don’t offer coverage meeting at least minimum standards. The government recently delayed these payments to January 2015. The page includes a link to a minimum value calculator to see if your coverage meets requirements, and guidance on whether it's affordable for your employees.
2. Mythbusting
While content on the government's Small Business Administration site can overlap with HealthCare.gov, its blog is worth a read. Articles bust Obamacare "myths," detail key ACA terms that small businesses should know and note new incentives for workplace wellness programs.
Recent must reads: A piece last month debunked the misconception that Obamacare won't affect employers in states without their own insurance marketplaces. Another article, Self-Employed? Learn What the Affordable Care Act Means for You, outlines the coverage options available to self-employed business owners. The SBA also recently announced that, in conjunction with the Small Business Majority -- an organization that pushed for Obamacare -- it is holding an Affordable Care Act 101 weekly webinar series on Thursdays.
3. Charts, graphs and interactive features
The Kaiser Family Foundation's health reform page features articles, poll results, infographics and FAQs, as well as interactive tools including a subsidy calculator which may be useful for solo entrepreneurs as well as those with employees. The site also gives an up-to-date status of each state's progress in establishing health-insurance marketplaces, also known as exchanges. Quizzes test business owners' knowledge on the law, with the results easily sharable on social media.
Recent must read: Employer Responsibility Under the Affordable Care Act: This infographic gives employers a concise snapshot of their obligations under the law.
4. Videos
The National Federation of Independent Business, which led the legal fight against Obamacare, has a series of nuts-and-bolts "healthcare minute" videos and articles on what employers may need to do to comply. While NFIB's site contains a big dose of criticism for Obamacare, it also offers useful interactive features such as a healthcare tax-credit calculator.
Recent must read: In one short video and summary, How are Seasonal Workers Counted? NFIB spokesman Kevin Kuhlman explains that seasonal employees count toward a business's number of "full-time equivalent" workers, which might help classify an employer as "large" and potentially subject to penalties.
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