Health insurance is all the talk these days. You can’t watch TV without seeing some news, catching a commercial, or hearing a reference to healthcare reform. The Affordable Care Act has everybody talking about health insurance, and with so much information, it may become difficult to grasp which Health Insurance is right for you.
Here are some quick helpful tips to help you better understand the impact of the ACA on your business.
1. Do Your Research – Are you an individual and curious about your penalty for not having health insurance? This article explains. Are you a business owner, curious about your potential exposure? The IRS explains some of the potential penalties here. There are a number of other free resources available to help determine your risk.
2. Keep up to date – The one consistent aspect of the Affordable Care Act so far, is that the rules keep changing. There have been a number of delays and changes made that many individuals and business owners are not aware of. One free resource to keep up to date is www.healthcare.gov. There is a signup on their homepage for email updates. These updates could potentially save you time, money and headaches.
3. Educate your employees – Have you educated yourself on the ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act? Good, now it is time to educate your employees. Make sure that your employees are aware of the individual mandate, as well as their options. Depending on the state you are in, employees will have access to your company sponsored plans or potentially less expensive options through one of the health insurance exchanges.
4. Have a clear cut plan – Now that you have educated yourself and everyone involved in your company on the ins and outs of the ACA, it is time to plan your health insurance policy. Are you going to embrace the new plan, or stick with your old one? What measures are you going to take to provide the best health care options, for the lowest cost? Are you providing private health care to any of your employees? All of these are important questions to ask yourself.
5. Get help! – Lean on your health insurance partner for advice along the way. If your current provider doesn’t seem to have the answers for you it might be time to look for a new partner. There are plenty of providers out there who have taken it upon themselves to learn about the ACA and how it will impact their clients. If you have to do too much of this work on your own, it’s time to find a new partner for help.
If you have questions or would like to learn more about the Impact of the ACA please reach out to Genesis HR Solutions at AskUs@genesishrsolutions.com or 800-367-8367.
Genesis HR Solutions is the premier PEO provider for Massachusetts based businesses
