Negocios Now

NegociosNow 10 Marzo-Abril 2013 www.negociosnow.com With Obamacare Coming, Time to Plan is Now Make no mistake, the Affordable Care Act will be implemented in Illinois - with or without small businesses��� collective voice being heard By: Joyce Harant* N ow that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to small business owners to make sure it will work for them and their employees as it was intended to do The Small Business Health Care Consortium(SBHCC) knows that small business owners care about their employees and that they understand that keeping their employees healthy, with access to quality treatment is not only the right thing to do, it makes good business sense. It helps them retain and compete for good employees with larger companies. Yet, about 59% of small businesses with less than 50 employees in Illinois can not provide employee health insurance, primarily because it is not affordable. Small businesses pay about 18% more than larger companies. One important component of the ACA is that all states will have a health insurance exchange (marketplace). On January 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act will enable about 175,000 of these Illinois small businesses with less than 50 employees, not currently offering health insurance, to be eligible to access insurance through an Illinois health insurance exchange marketplace. Applying this to Illinois��� Hispanic small businesses estimates that about 4,371 Hispanic small businesses and about 20,179 of their employees will be eligible to use the insurance exchange. Over all, estimates predict that about 25% of those using the insurance exchange will be of Hispanic ethnicity. No one will be left out because of a pre-existing condition nor reaching a life time cap. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, the owners and their employees can take advantage of the ACA���s benefits. Some employers with fewer than 25 employees may currently be eligible for a 35% federal tax credit based on their health insurance premiums. This increases to 50%, for two years, in 2014. Many ACA components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. The SBHCC believes that we should have a State run health insurance exchange marketplace. It should include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans that you can consider and review side-by-side. Information should be accessible on a web site for enrollment or to have experienced people guiding a small business through the process. Small business should be represented on the governing board. Archivo Many ACA components will be implemented at the state level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. Will the Illinois insurance marketplace legislation be friendly to small businesses? Since the Illinois health insurance companies having amassed over $30 billion in reserves, beyond what is needed to cover medical obligations, while they continue to increase small business premiums--do you think that the insurance industry will do everything they can to make the newly forming health insurance exchange work for their benefit or yours? We know that right now the insurance industry is talking with your legislators to maximize their control and minimize the voice of small business and consumers. The SBHCC was formed in 2012 to provide factual information about health reform changes and to help small businesses voice their needs to Illinois policy makers. It is a project of the Campaign for Better Health Care, a non profit that organizes coalitions throughout the state to promote access to affordable and quality health care. If you do not have much time but you want small business friendly health reform legislation in Illinois, please consider joining the SBHCC (use the web site list above). We can help answer your questions, give you up to date information about current legislation and policy decisions and assist you to have timely contact with your policy maker. The SBHCC wants to make sure that the voice of small business is heard and that new laws and regulations benefit them. Contact us today! By: Joyce Harant, Small Business Project Director, Small Business Health Care Consortium www. cbhconline.org/smallbusiness jharant@cbhconline.org Cortes��a Overall, estimates predict that about 25% of those using the insurance exchange will be of Hispanic ethnicity.

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