ObamaCare is a big change from how the Health Insurance industry has been running over the past 3 decades. A big change. Small, medium, and large employers all have specific compliance mandates that have to be implemented, by law. Failure to do so can result in fines, audits and all kinds of nasty penalties. Larger employers are the most affected with the “play or pay” concept. That just means if you are an employer with at least 50 full time OR full time EQUIVALENT, you must offer at least the baseline coverage to your employees or pay a penalty each year. The penalty starts out small, about $2000 per employee over the first 30, and then increases to some pretty hefty amounts in future years.
They estimate that about 85% of the larger employers ALREADY offer coverage…albeit sometimes not the minimum levels that ObamaCare is requiring. Some employers are currently offering what they call “mini-meds”. Mini meds are insurance coverage but have limits of what they will cover in a calendar year or in a lifetime, something that at the present time, will not be allowed. The problem is that many larger employers have a workforce that makes close to the minimum wage. For these employers, offering full coverage, like the law requires, will be a severe hardship. Many are talking about reducing their workforce, switching people to part time, and other cost saving measures. Unintended consequences of the ObamaCare law.
People often ask me, how will ObamaCare affect my business if I have less than 50 employees? Well, you will still have certain requirements IF you offer Health Insurance or Employee Benefits, but you DO NOT HAVE TO OFFER coverage at this time. If you have a good broker, they should have all the compliance paperwork set up for you in case there IS an audit by the DOL. The compliance paperwork involves having SBCs and SPDs on hand when, and if, an employee asks for them. If you don’t have them readily available, the fines can be expensive.
ObamaCare realizes that if you are a small employer, many times you do not have the resources to be able to spend money for Employee Benefits. Health Insurance is NOT CHEAP. For someone in their 20’s, the prices range from about $180 a month to $350 or so. Now times that by say 30 employees…..you’re talking about some serious money. HOWEVER….there are ways to strategize your Employee Benefits so it doesn’t break the bank. We specialize in ways to do that.
At Brauer Insurance we help small, medium, and large employers not only comply with the complex ObamaCare laws and compliance issues, but we help companies “strategize” their Employee Benefits. The strategy is somewhat complex, but VERY effective. Many of our clients have been wildly successful with them.
How will ObamaCare affect your business?? If you have a good broker, you should ALREADY know the answer to that!!
Steve Brauer-Principal/Broker, Brauer Insurance Services LLC…..(408) 421-5555