Plan Ahead – Lock in 2015 Health Insurance Prices for most of 2016. If you are a small business owner who offers your employees health insurance, or you have looked into offering coverage, you know that health insurance premiums have a bad habit of only going up and shopping for insurance can be difficult. In prior years you had to compare pricing of health insurance Company A to health insurance Company B while trying to […]
Open Enrollment begins on November 15, 2014 – Open enrollment for individuals begins on November 15, 2014 and is open until February 15, 2015. During open enrollment individuals may buy a health insurance plan from the exchange for the first time or shop around for a different plan. Once purchased, the new plan can go into effect in as little as 30 days. In reviewing the CoverOregon.com website it appears that individuals shopping for private health […]
A recent headline reads, “Average health insurance rates lower in 2015.” In aggregate this is great news for all Oregonians that utilize the health insurance exchange, CoverOregon. One year is not a trend but after years of double digit increases Oregon businesses would welcome rates stabilizing like workers’ compensation did in the 1990s. Oregon is still benefiting from those changes. A closer examination of the approved rates shows some insurers with increases but others with […]
If you have 100 Full Time employees and Full Time Equivalents in 2015 or 50 Full Time employees and Full Time Equivalents in 2016 you will be subject to the $2000 tax/penalty under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if you do not provide health insurance. Often the option to pay a tax or provide health insurance is framed as two options-pay or play. Either you pay the $2000 tax or provide health insurance to your […]
For a good part of 2013 I have been speaking to small businesses about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At those speaking engagements employers have expressed concern about what should they do in 2014. Should they provide health insurance, can they afford it or is it better to just wait and see what happens in the latter part of 2013 before making a decision? There is no easy answer. The answers to these questions vary […]
Many small employers do not offer health insurance and are wondering what to do for themselves and their employees before January 1st, 2014 rolls around. Small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) are not subject to the employer mandate and thus do not receive a penalty for not offering health insurance. However small businesses owners and employees are considered individuals and thus are subject to the individual mandate. If either of the aforementioned individuals do not […]
Last week the Oregon Insurance Division released a sample of proposed health insurance rates for the upcoming health insurance exchange. These are suggested rates only and it is not clear if or how much they may change. When reviewing the web page from the first link below note that in all three coverage levels each carrier is offering the same amount of coverage. Next take a look at the pricing for each of the three […]
Oregon’s Health Insurance Exchange Once small business owners realize that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax/penalty does not apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees their next questions are usually focused on the individual mandate and the cost of health care coverage. It goes without saying that cost is foremost on the minds of most employers, especially for those companies where coverage is not offered and that outlay is not currently built into their […]