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Online Tools to Help You Find and Price Small Business Health Care Insurance Options
by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator
- Created: February 5, 2013, 7:44 am
- Updated: February 5, 2013, 10:43 am
We all have questions about the Affordable Care Act, whether it's deciphering facts from myths or trying to understand what your options for health care coverage are now and in the future.
As small business owners, getting the right information from a credible resource is critical. One new tool is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s health care web page, www.sba.gov/healthcare, dedicated to educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act. The site is a gateway for small businesses connecting them with information provided by SBA’s federal partners responsible for implementing the law, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HHS’s web portal – Healthcare.gov – is another valuable resource that provides information and tools to help individuals and employers understand how the Affordable Care Act will impact them.
The site also aims to make comparison shopping for health insurance a whole lot easier, using basic personalization features that help you determine plan options, pricing information and eligibility.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the tools and features that you can find at Healthcare.gov.
Understand the Affordable Care Act as a Small Business Owner
What does the health care law mean to you? Check out these resources that explain the key provisions of the law plus an overview of what is changing and when.
For a clear overview of how the law impacts small businesses, the Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act guide breaks down the top things you need to know, including information about the following:
- The Small Business Tax Credit and your eligibility to claim it.
- Affordable Insurance Marketplaces, known as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), will open on January 1, 2014 and give small employers buying power—similar to what large businesses have to get better choices and lower prices. The SHOP Marketplaces will work with new insurance reforms and tax credits provided by the Affordable Care Act to help lower barriers to offering health insurance that small employers face. Visit Healthcare.gov’s small business landing page for the latest information on SHOP, and review the get-ready checklist for small business owners. Enrollment in SHOP begins on October 1, 2013.
This useful Small Business Q&A also helps you understand your rights and responsibilities as a small business owner.
Find Healthcare Insurance Options for Your Small Business
Looking for insurance for yourself or your employees? Healthcare.gov’s Insurance Finder organizes and presents information and pricing collected from insurers to help you better understand your options. Enter some basic data and the tool will filter your options accordingly.
Healthcare.gov's Insurance Finder helps employers explore their options for healthcare insurance for themselves and their employees.
Assess and Compare Quality of Care
Healthcare.gov also lets you compare the quality of care provided by the institutions that administer healthcare prevention and treatment services using the Compare Care Providers tool.
Stay Connected
Get ready for Marketplace enrollment on October 1st by signing up for email and text alerts about new health insurance options and benefits at http://www.signup.healthcare.gov.
About the Author
Caron Beesley is a small business owner, a writer, and marketing communications consultant. Caron works with the SBA.gov team to promote essential government resources that help entrepreneurs and small business owners start-up, grow and succeed. Follow Caron on Twitter: @caronbeesleyContributors
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About This Blog
This blog is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Readers should consult their legal or tax professionals to discuss how these matters relate to their individual business circumstances.
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Comments
POLAINTERNATIONAL | Window Shopper | 2/6/2013 - 8:49 am
consider it bit expensive. But this is a complete illusion. Actually it is
not. The local brokers and owners are more expensive and get you into trouble
if you won't go legally.
thriveholistics | Window Shopper | 2/5/2013 - 5:21 pm
there is a lot of confusion about what the Affordable Health Care Act means
for small business owners. I for one am excited for the changes. Thanks
again!
Michelle
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