SHOP for Employees
Agents & Brokers & the SHOP Marketplace
If your employer offers you health insurance through the SHOP Marketplace, you can decline it. If you do, you have other health insurance options.
FYI We talk about 2 different insurance Marketplaces below:
- The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace. It’s the Marketplace your employer uses to offer you SHOP Marketplace coverage.
- The Health Insurance Marketplace for Individuals & Families. This is where people can buy insurance plans directly from an insurance company.
You can buy insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace for Individuals & Families instead of accepting your employer’s insurance offer. But there are important facts to consider:
Visit the Health Insurance Marketplace for Individuals & Families.
Note: It’s against the law for your employer to punish or retaliate against you if you buy a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace for Individuals & Families instead of accepting their plan. Learn more about your protections and non-retaliation.
You can buy a health insurance plan directly from an insurance company, through an agent or broker, or from an online seller.
If you buy a plan outside the Marketplace you can’t get a premium tax credit or other savings based on your income. Only plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace for Individuals & Families qualify for these savings.
Learn about buying a plan outside the Marketplace.
If you don’t have qualifying health coverage for all or some months of the year, you may have to pay a penalty with your next federal tax return.
For example, if you don’t have coverage in 2016, you'd pay the higher of these two amounts:
For 2017, the amounts of the penalties will be even higher. Learn more about the penalty if you don’t have insurance coverage.