2 Tips for Businesses Navigating Obamacare

Thanks to the new health reforms, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees have new tools with which to provide health care to their employees. As you navigate your options, BenefitMall’s president, chairman and chief executive officer Bernard DiFiore has compiled five tips that small business owners like yourself should keep in mind.
1. Small biz, big taxes. Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of uninsured Americans will have access to health insurance regardless of their medical history. Under the mandate, insurance has to be “affordable” and in order to meet those standards. The federal government will supply tax credits. To pay for the tax credits, a variety of taxes and fees were included in the law and business owners will see these fees accumulate.
2. Don’t assume you can’t afford to offer care. Despite the extra taxes and fees, don’t automatically assume you can’t afford a plan on the exchange. For example, if a small business with less than 25 full-time equivalent employees provides health insurance coverage to their employees and covers at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage for their employees, they may be eligible for a federal income tax credit.