Employers required to offer health insurance
Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, employers with 50 employees or more will be required to provide health insurance coverage to full-time employees or face paying a penalty. The requirement does not apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees. (For information about tax credits available for business with fewer than 25 employees, click here.) The annual penalty for not offering coverage is $2,000 for every full-time employee beyond the first 30.
Employers that offer coverage to employees may also be subject to penalties if any of their employees choose to buy coverage through the local health insurance exchange (which each state will be required to establish) instead of participating in the employer's plan. These employers will be required to pay a $3,000 penalty annually for each of their employees who opt for coverage through the health insurance exchange and receive a premium tax credit for doing so. However, employers will not be subject to penalties if the coverage they offer pays for at least 60% of covered health care expenses for a typical population and employees do not have to pay more than 9.5% of their household income for the coverage. For more information about who can purchase insurance through an exchange and who qualifies for a premium credit, click here. Employers will not be penalized for any employee insured through a spouse’s employer, Medicaid, or Medicare.
Federal Documents
-
Regulations on grandfathered health plans
PDF
HHS regulations on grandfathered health plans that are exempt from certain requirements of PPACA.
Arkansas Documents
-
ACHI: Will Employers Drop, Keep or Add Health Insurance?
Arkansas Center for Health Improvement's Issue Brief describing the factors employers will consider when the Affordable Care Act's requirements on employers take effect in 2014.
Other Documents
-
CBPP: Employer Responsibility in Health Reform
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' two-page summary of employer responsibilities