Health News
With Illinois granted early access to the Small Business Health Options Program exchange, or SHOP, small businesses in the state already have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a new online resource for purchasing health insurance for their employees.
For those that qualify, purchasing health insurance through the SHOP exchange can represent a smart business decision. They can receive tax credits covering up to 50% of their contribution to employee premiums, plus the SHOP allows small businesses to combine their purchasing with other small businesses to keep costs low.
The healthcare law does not require small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide health insurance. Because 94% of businesses in Illinois employ fewer than 50 people, a large majority are exempt from offering health insurance.
The SHOP was meant to minimize the number of people left out of health reform by helping small businesses provide health insurance anyway, with tax credits and collaborative purchasing power incentivizing this option by keeping costs lower.
But to what extent are small businesses taking advantage of the SHOP? Health & Disability Advocates and Crain?s Chicago Business teamed up to find out and conducted a survey of small business owners. The results are documented in a recently released report from Health & Disability Advocates and an article in Crain's Chicago Business.
The survey found that small businesses are not using the SHOP to purchase health insurance and are largely uninformed about it:
Small businesses would gain from outreach and education on benefits of the SHOP and how to use this resource. Informing the business owners about the SHOP would equip them with information that they could use to enroll their employees in health insurance, an important benefit that helps in retaining and attracting workers.
Since small businesses overwhelmingly rely on brokers when purchasing insurance, the broker community could be a resource in outreach and education efforts. Indeed, brokers are increasingly viewed as vital partners in healthcare outreach and enrollment efforts. For example, during the first enrollment period they played a key role in the famously successful effort in Kentucky. Partnering with brokers to conduct outreach can help increase the numbers of small businesses that offer health insurance ? and the number of individuals enrolled in healthcare.
The bottom line is that small businesses in Illinois are not aware of the Small Business Health Options Program, the tax credits available to them, or other ACA provisions that could benefit them. For us to effectively reach these important job creators and help them take advantage of these provisions, we must engage the broker community to provide this new outreach and education to their existing clients.
Bryce Marable, MSW
Policy Analyst
Health & Disability Advocates
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Health News
Small Businesses in Illinois Lack Knowledge of What the ACA Has to Offer Them
With Illinois granted early access to the Small Business Health Options Program exchange, or SHOP, small businesses in the state already have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a new online resource for purchasing health insurance for their employees.For those that qualify, purchasing health insurance through the SHOP exchange can represent a smart business decision. They can receive tax credits covering up to 50% of their contribution to employee premiums, plus the SHOP allows small businesses to combine their purchasing with other small businesses to keep costs low.
The healthcare law does not require small businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide health insurance. Because 94% of businesses in Illinois employ fewer than 50 people, a large majority are exempt from offering health insurance.
The SHOP was meant to minimize the number of people left out of health reform by helping small businesses provide health insurance anyway, with tax credits and collaborative purchasing power incentivizing this option by keeping costs lower.
But to what extent are small businesses taking advantage of the SHOP? Health & Disability Advocates and Crain?s Chicago Business teamed up to find out and conducted a survey of small business owners. The results are documented in a recently released report from Health & Disability Advocates and an article in Crain's Chicago Business.
The survey found that small businesses are not using the SHOP to purchase health insurance and are largely uninformed about it:
- Fewer than 18% of small business owners said they had learned ?a lot? or a ?a great deal? about the SHOP.
- Only 11% took advantage of the small business healthcare tax credit.
- And finally, 31% of small businesses surveyed said they did not know whether they were receiving the small business healthcare tax credit.
Small businesses would gain from outreach and education on benefits of the SHOP and how to use this resource. Informing the business owners about the SHOP would equip them with information that they could use to enroll their employees in health insurance, an important benefit that helps in retaining and attracting workers.
Since small businesses overwhelmingly rely on brokers when purchasing insurance, the broker community could be a resource in outreach and education efforts. Indeed, brokers are increasingly viewed as vital partners in healthcare outreach and enrollment efforts. For example, during the first enrollment period they played a key role in the famously successful effort in Kentucky. Partnering with brokers to conduct outreach can help increase the numbers of small businesses that offer health insurance ? and the number of individuals enrolled in healthcare.
The bottom line is that small businesses in Illinois are not aware of the Small Business Health Options Program, the tax credits available to them, or other ACA provisions that could benefit them. For us to effectively reach these important job creators and help them take advantage of these provisions, we must engage the broker community to provide this new outreach and education to their existing clients.
Bryce Marable, MSW
Policy Analyst
Health & Disability Advocates
- Illinois Entrepreneurs And Small Business Need Shop Employee Choice
Illinois is one of 18 states recently granted a delay by the Department of Health and Human Services for the employee choice feature of the small business health options program marketplace, or SHOP. But what exactly is employee choice, and why is this...
- Illinois Granted Early Access To Shop Marketplace
Yes, the Affordable Care Act offers individuals and families quality health insurance, but did you know small employers with less than 50 full-time equivalent employees can take full advantage of the Health Insurance Marketplace? Online functionality...
- A Helping Hand For Small Businesses: Health Insurance Tax Credits
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a tax credit to help small businesses provide health insurance for their employees. According to a new study released today from Families USA and the Small Business Majority, 3.2 million small businesses, employing...
- What Does Health Care Reform Mean For Small Businesses?
Your Bottom Line: What Healthcare Reform Means for Illinois Small Businesses March 23, 2012 11:00 AM CDT This webinar will focus on what the new federal healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act, means for Illinois small businesses. It will include both...
- Health Reform Will Help Small Businesses In Illinois
Did you know that almost 8 out of 10 small businesses in Illinois with 25 or fewer workers will receive financial relief because of the Affordable Care Act? If you want to see if your small business qualifies, check out the Small Business Majority's...