Small Business Requirements for the Affordable Care Act

Many small businesses are confused about their requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as “Obamacare”. The short answer is, if you have fewer than 50 “full-time equivalent” (FTE) employees, and you don’t offer a health insurance plan, all you have to do is make sure each employee gets a copy of this 2-page letter, written by the Department of Labor.

It’s super-easy — it’s just a template from the Department of Labor that informs employees that:

1) there’s this thing called the Marketplace online where they can buy health insurance;
2) they might be eligible for credits at the Marketplace;
3) if they receive health insurance from their employer, those credits may be reduced; and,
4) they are not currently eligible for health insurance through you as an employer.
The employer needs to fill out page 2 with their company info and double-side print it, making sure all employees get a copy, including each time they bring on someone new.

Kim Buckey, vice president of client services at DirectPath, a Birmingham, Ala.-based employee engagement and health care compliance firm, has noted the following:

“There is no fine or penalty under law for failing to provide the notice, so if an employer simply stopped providing the form, there would be little consequence.”

She explained that the notices are models provided for employers to use, but employers are free to provide the information in another format. Here is technical guidance that explains the content of the health insurance marketplace notice, in case employers want to write their own notice. “Many employers distribute their own version or a highly condensed version of the boilerplate, sometimes as part of an annual legal notices package or brochure.”

Employers, as I mentioned, are not required to offer health insurance to employees until they have 50 FTEs (good calculation worksheet here), but of course they can choose to offer it, voluntarily. There are some guidelines that are essential once an employer decides to do so, and additional information can be found at Healthcare.gov: How the Affordable Care Act affects small businesses.

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