Many of my business clients and actually clients in general are trying to understand how the new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) affects their business.
There are several areas of the Act which may affect you or your business. As an individual new exchanges are available to purchase your own plan. Costs may go down for purchasing your own insurance. In some situations it may go up. If you do not have insurance you will have to pay a penalty or tax. A $63 charge will be applied to all insurance policies the first year and change thereafter. Businesses may be able to have their employees pay this charge, if it is done correctly. Some may need to pay an increase of .9% on their Medicare taxes.
The biggest issue may be the $2,000 – $3,000 penalty per employee for businesses if they fall under the qualifications set out in the Act and do not provide insurance. The qualifications are somewhat complicated as are the requirements for the types of insurance offered. The way the numbers of full time employees are counted is not as simple as you would think. Businesses should check all of the methods of calculating employees and not just rely on your regular counting of full time employees.
Businesses may qualify for tax breaks if they offer the right kinds of health insurance coverage.
Give me a call and we can discuss how you or your business may be affected. We can plan the best routes to help you deal with any ramifications that you may experience and ensure you are taking advantage of the options the Act provides.
I look forward to serving you.
Thank you.
My Best Regards,
Kelly Michael Bosserman, ESQ