Companies Brace For 2016 ACA Rule Change
Beginning January 1, 2016, many small businesses across the US will feel the pinch even further when another provision of the burdensome Obamacare regulations goes into effect. Beginning on that date, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes, businesses with between 51 and 100 employees will begin being grouped with those businesses that have 50 or fewer employees “for health coverage purposes.” There are a host of possible implications for this new grouping, such as the likelihood of “a new layer of administrative and premium costs” for small businesses. Small-group requirements like covering minimum “essential health benefits” apply only to businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The change will add an estimated 160,000 employers with more than 3 million workers to the list of those required to offer one of the “metal” plans, either platinum, gold, silver, or bronze, found in the healthcare exchange that offer Obamacare’s “designated 10 essential health benefits such as emergency services, hospitalization, mental health and substance abuse treatment, maternity and newborn care, and prescription drugs.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Obamacare continues to be a growing burden for small businesses around the US. The Post-Gazette suggests that some potential pitfalls for small businesses adjusting to the latest government overreach include less flexibility in crafting employee health plans, additional paperwork, premium rates that could rise at least 50%, and additional new regulations. As Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s Sam Denisco warned, “It’s a big deal. I think it’s going to capture a large segment of the business community.” When more small businesses are forced to adjust to higher benefit costs, they may have to curb worker hours, reducing staff from full- to part-time workers, lay off some workers, or otherwise reduce operations.
Additional Reading
NFIB previously noted provisions of Obamacare that are costly to small businesses.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
