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Tag: small business

Gibbs Predicts Employer Mandate Will Be Killed

A former longtime advisor to President Barack Obama predicted Wednesday that the employer mandate — a key piece of Obamacare — will not survive.

It was among several predictions Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary, had for the future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a speech at the 2014 Benefits Selling Expo.

“I don’t think the employer mandate will go into effect. It’s a small part of the law. I think it will be one of the first things to go,” he said to a notably surprised audience.

The employer mandate has been delayed twice, he noted. The vast majority of employers with 100 or more employees offer health insurance, and there aren’t many employers who fall into the mandate window, he said.

Killing the employer mandate would be one way to improve the law — and there are a handful of other “common sense” improvements needed as well, he said.

Read the full report here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

Health Premiums Projected to Rise for Many Small Firms Under Obamacare

A new federal report estimates that 65% of small firms will pay more for employee health insurance as a result of the federal healthcare law while the remaining 35% will see premiums drop.

Those increased healthcare costs will probably be passed on to workers and their families, according to estimates from the Office of the Actuary at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Read the full report here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a
healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

Second Wave Of Health-Insurance Disruption Affects Small Businesses

When millions of health-insurance plans were canceled last fall, the Obama administration tried to be reassuring, saying the terminations affected only the small minority of Americans who bought individual policies.

But according to industry analysts, insurers and state regulators, the disruption will be far greater, potentially affecting millions of people who receive insurance through small employers by the end of 2014.

Read the full report here.

CBO Says Less Than 2% Of Americans Will Owe The Health Care Penalty

FACT SHEET: INDIVIDUAL SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE AND MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE PROPOSED RULES

Under the Affordable Care Act, the Federal government, State governments, insurers, employers, and individuals are given shared responsibility to reform and improve the availability, quality, and affordability of health insurance coverage in the United States. Starting in 2014, the individual shared responsibility provision calls for each individual to have basic health insurance coverage (known as minimum essential coverage), qualify for an exemption, or make a shared responsibility payment when filing a federal income tax return. Individuals will not have to make a payment if coverage is unaffordable, if they spend less than three consecutive months without coverage, or if they qualify for an exemption for several other reasons, including hardship and religious beliefs.

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