SHOP Covered California for Small Business Health Insurance

by Gary Toebben

Covered California is leading the nation in enrollment via the new health insurance exchanges with 10,000 individuals signing up each day. As of this week, Covered California is open to small businesses as well. 
 
The Chamber has worked closely with Covered California, health care industry members, and business and consumer groups to make the exchange work for California businesses. We hear regularly from our members about the need for small businesses to have more health insurance options for their employees. 

Yesterday, the L.A. Area Chamber hosted a news conference for statewide leaders from Covered California and business organizations to announce the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) online marketplace. Using SHOP, small businesses with one to 50 eligible employees can go online to compare plans and enroll. The employer can choose the level of coverage offered to employees, reference a plan (or benchmark plan) that defines their contribution level and let employees select a plan within that tier. Enrollment is open year-round and coverage can begin as early as Jan. 1, 2014.

For some business owners with less than 25 employees, there are also federal tax credits available to help offset contributions toward employee premiums. For 2014, tax credits are calculated on a sliding-scale of up to 50 percent of the employer’s eligible premium expenses. For tax-exempt employers, the maximum tax credit is 35 percent of eligible premium expenses for 2014. Learn more about the exclusive tax credits available to businesses that purchase health care through the SHOP.

Whether you’re the owner of a family-operated restaurant, a dry cleaner, a boutique consulting firm or a technology start-up, you will find options for quality, comprehensive, and affordable health care plan on the Covered California website. Under federal regulations, small business with less than 50 employees are not mandated to provide health insurance, but SHOP provides them with more options and financial incentives if they have less than 25 employees and qualify.   

Since Oct. 1, more than 1,500 small business owners have begun the process of exploring whether a SHOP plan is right for them. As of this week, those businesses and thousands of others can go online to shop and purchase health care coverage for their employees. I encourage all small businesses to visit the SHOP website and review their options for health care. The goal is to save money and contribute to the health and welfare of your employees.  That would be good for everyone. 

And that's The Business Perspective.