Many Business Owners Confused by Health Insurance Requirements

More than two-thirds of small businesses aren’t sure or think incorrectly they must provide health insurance to employees in 2014 or pay a fine, a new study shows. Even more — 78 percent — said they were not familiar with health insurance exchanges and how they may impact their business, despite subsidies and tax credits offered by the Affordable Care Act.

The anonymous online survey of 439 small business who had purchased insurance from eHealthInsurance.com was conducted in August by Mountain View-based eHealth Inc., a private health insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can compare products and enroll online.

The survey points to a huge task ahead to educate small businesses about what they have to do — and don’t — under federal health reform.

The Affordable Care Act requires businesses with the equivalent of 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance for workers in 2014. Businesses with fewer workers are exempt, although most employees will be required to buy insurance if they are not otherwise covered.

Thirty-four percent of the small business businesses surveyed incorrectly believed they were required to buy insurance for employees in 2014; another 35 percent didn’t know.

“Doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California, a grassroots advocacy group in San Francisco. “There’s massive amounts of misinformation out there.”

Download a PDF of the 2012 Small Employer Benefits Survey here.

Source: Sacramento Business Journal