tailieunhanh - The Affordable Care Act Increases Choice and Saving Money for Small Businesses

An Affordable Insurance Exchange is a new, competitive marketplace where families and small business owners will be able to shop for private health insurance. Starting in 2014, the Exchanges will allow you to compare qualified health plans, get answers to questions, find out if you are eligible for tax credits for private insurance or health programs such as Medicaid, and enroll in a health plan that meets your needs. Members of Congress and their staff will be required to get their insurance from the Exchanges, too. For small employers, this is a way to level the playing field, so that small. | HEALTH REFORM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES The Affordable Care Act Increases Choice and Saving Money for Small Businesses HEALTHREFORM HEALTH REFORM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES The Affordable Care Act Increases Choice and Saving Money for Small Businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy but high health care costs and declining coverage have hindered small business owners and their employees. Over the past decade average annual family premiums for workers at small firms increased by 123 percent from 5 700 in 1999 to 1 2 700 in 2009 while the percentage of small firms offering coverage fell from 65 to 59 percent. The Affordable Care Act will provide enormous benefits to the millions of small business owners and the tens of millions of small business employees by expanding coverage options increasing purchasing power lowering costs and giving consumers not insurance companies control over their own health care. No Employer Mandate Exempts Small Firms from Employer Responsibility Requirement The Affordable Care Act does not include an employer mandate. In 2014 as a matter of fairness the Affordable Care Act requires large employers to pay a shared responsibility fee only if they don t provide affordable coverage and taxpayers are supporting the cost of health insurance for their workers through premium tax credits for middle to low income families. The law specifically exempts all firms that have fewer than 50 employees - 96 percent of all firms in the United States or million out of 6 million total firms - from any employer responsibility requirements. These million firms employ nearly 34 million workers. More than 96 percent of firms with 50 or more employees already offer health insurance to their workers. Less than percent of all firms about 10 000 out of 6 million may face employer responsibility requirements. Many firms that do not currently offer coverage will be more likely to do so because of lower premiums and wider choices in .