PPACA for Small Group Employers

The PPACA law currently names small group employers as employers who have 50 or fewer full time employees.  I will get into how a full time employee is figured latter.
Small businesses also can use an exchange to find insurance for their employees. These are called
"Small Business Health Options Programs" or SHOPs for short. 

Small Businesses have three options for health insurance in 2014:

1. Offer a fully insured plan through either;

• A SHOP exchange
• The traditional market

    2.   Offer an ASO plan.
 Administrative Services Only (ASO) is essentially a self-funded plan by the employer.

    3.  Stop offering coverage and let employees buy an individual plan on or off the exchange.


Subsidies for Small Employers:

Tax credits will increase for employers with 25 or fewer employees (with an average wage of less that $50,000 a year) who offer coverage through an exchange.

 

• The credit will cover up to 50% of the employer's cost (35% for small nonprofit organizations)
• Employers will be eligible for credits in the first two years they offer coverage through an exchange
• Credits decrease on a sliding scale as group size and employee wages increase.