Now is a good time for small businesses is to think about their options health insurance come with open enrollment for individual health insurance in November. Employees can choose a new individual health insurance or change reporting guidelines that better meet their needs in the admission of members fits 2015 to search for reporting in 2015, which is open enrollment period from 15 November 2014 to run February 15, 2015. This article provides five tips for admission of members to make 2015 work for your small business.
1. Evaluate your current health insurance options
Many small businesses renew their Group Policy health insurance at this time of year. Health care costs have been in the last decade steadily, group make health insurance too expensive for many small businesses and their employees.
Small Business health insurance costs have nearly doubled since 09, with 91 percent of small businesses reported increases in their health plan at its recent insurance renewal. In addition, noted in February, a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that approximately 11 million small businesses see employees health insurance premium increases due to the ACA.
As a result of the rising group health insurance premiums will fall many small businesses a fully insured small group health plan and are looking for alternative ways to provide more affordable health insurance.
2. Assess your new health insurance options
Since small businesses (less than 50 full-time positions), are not subject to the employer shared responsibility provision under the ACA, they have more options than just a group offer health insurance.
In the context of health insurance marketplaces of the ACA, there is an option for small businesses, the SHOP marketplace called. This is a new way for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees (or less than 100 in some states) to acquire a traditional group health insurance. But for small businesses that do not have been able, for group health insurance in the past, the SHOP yet work can not afford to or qualify.
take because of problems with the SHOP marketplace, many small businesses are benefit the individual health insurance market. An alternative health insurance options for small businesses is the individual health insurance and a premium refund plan.
3. There are important dates to know
As of 2014, there are specific annual enrollment and special enrollment periods for individual health insurance. This is to ensure that individuals do not wait until they are ill, or are in need of expensive medical procedures in coverage or switch to a more comprehensive policy to register. Here are important dates to note on the application for individual health insurance:
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March 31, 2014: Open Enrollment completed for 2014
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15 . November 2014: Open enrollment for coverage in 2015 begins
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February 15, 2015: Open enrollment for coverage ends in 2015.
Tip: If you currently have an individual insurance health should check with their insurer when the policy ends to check their renewal options. Some policies are purchased through the marketplace enable automatic enrollment for current market to the consumer, the policy means, will be automatically renewed if no action is taken.
4. Take advantage of tax credits Premium
There are two ways a small business owner to take advantage of the premium tax credits of ACA.
The first option is the small business tax credit that was created, small businesses support employee health insurance in the provision. The tax credit is worth up to 50 percent of a small business' contribution to employee premium costs. To be eligible, the company must have fewer than 25 full-time employees and pay them an average wage of less than $ 50,000 per employee. In addition, the employer must at least half of their employees to pay premiums, and the credit can only be applied for plans purchased through the SHOP marketplace.
the second option for small businesses is to decide from a group policy and switch to a premium refund . plan to help staff a group policy with disqualified employees from eligibility for premium tax credits, but allows for a premium refund program to take employees benefit from tax credits, while premium support to obtain from their employer
. 5 . communicating with and Educate employees
health reform and benefits can be confusing for the staff. Many people have never chosen their own health insurance and may have a hard time understanding the levels of coverage plans. It is important that staff about how individual health insurance plans to educate in four standardized levels of coverage, the so-called "metallic levels of coverage." Categorized As soon as the employees understand their healthcare needs and what level of coverage is appropriate to fit these needs, a plan of selection is a lot easier.
It is also important to communicate the new advantages of the individual health insurance for employees. While individual health insurance plans are not new, the ACA creates three new benefits that make good just individual health insurance - if not better - than traditional health insurance group. The new benefits are:
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coverage for pre-existing conditions (the cover can not be denied or charged more because of illness)
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cover essential benefits health (a core set of health benefits and services).
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discounts on the premium tax credits (the lower the cost of premiums for eligible individuals).
Photo Credit: Flickr, rachaelvoorhees
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