Health Care

Bookstore owners and managers can head to HealthCare.gov at any time during the year to see what health care plans they can offer to their employees.

On October 7, President Obama signed into law an amendment to the Affordable Care Act that leaves it up to states to determine whether businesses with 51–100 employees will be included in their small group markets in 2016.

The Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act, a bill that amends the Affordable Care Act, has passed the U.S. House and Senate. If signed by the President, the legislation would give states the right to determine what size business constitutes a “small business.”

On June 27, in his weekly address, President Obama said the Supreme Court decision to uphold a crucial provision in the Affordable Care Act, which allows individuals in states with federally run health insurance exchanges to receive a tax credit, means the law is “here to stay.”

Booksellers who have been providing health insurance to their employees should remember that the Affordable Care Act includes federal tax credits for small businesses.

The Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges for individuals and small businesses are slated to reopen for open enrollment on Saturday, November 15. This enrollment period will mark the first time that Small Business Health Options Programs will be available online for businesses in all states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will test the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP Exchanges), the health insurance exchange for small businesses, with a soft launch in late October in Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Ohio.

On Tuesday, July 22, two legal challenges to provisions for health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act resulted in contradictory rulings from federal appeals courts.

The IRS has issued a notice stressing that employers that reimburse their employees pre-tax for premiums under a Health Reimbursement Account to pay for insurance in a health exchange could be subject to a fine of $100 per day per employee.

Booksellers are invited to set up an appointment to discuss advocacy issues with David Grogan, ABA senior public policy analyst, in the Indie Bookseller Lounge at BEA.

Booksellers who have been providing health insurance to their employees should remember that the Affordable Care Act includes federal tax credits for small businesses.

With the new year, the Affordable Care Act’s health care tax credit for small businesses will increase from 35 percent to a maximum of 50 percent. The credit is meant to encourage small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to begin offering health insurance coverage to their employees or to maintain the coverage they already have.

Late last week, the White House announced that it was delaying by one year online enrollment in the federally operated Small Business Health Options (SHOP) health insurance exchanges.

As the White House continues to address problems on the Affordable Care Act website, local health care navigators have told Reuters that they are seeing gradual improvements on HealthCare.gov.

The numerous problems with HealthCare.gov prompted a press event on Monday by President Obama to address concerns, and Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to delay the individual mandate by a year. In addition, House Republicans have scheduled a hearing to find out why the site was launched before it was ready.