Access Health CT, Connecticut”™s health care exchange, is well on its way. Within the first 11 days of launching Oct. 1, nearly 2,000 applications had been processed for new health care plans.
Most of the hype surrounding the launch pertains to the individual plans. For the first time, any individual, regardless of pre-existing conditions, is able to secure health insurance. But the exchange is also offering a first for small businesses.
Now small business employers can offer their employees a choice among three different health insurance providers through the exchange: United Healthcare Group, HealthyCT and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. While one employee might like a plan from Anthem better, a coworker may prefer a Healthy CT plan. Both can have either under the exchange and the employer will get only one bill from Access Health CT.
“It”™s a new option in the marketplace,” said Phil Boyle, a business liaison for Access Health CT. “We haven”™t seen anything new for the last 10, 15 years. So it”™s exciting to have this small employer option.”
Boyle said the exchange is off to a strong start, though at this time employers might not see big cost savings with the exchange. For now, the prices are set at a standard, competitive rate.
Businesses with fewer than than 25 employees and an average salary of less than $50,000 may be eligible for tax subsidies to help pay for the cost. Under this scenario, both the employer and employee would receive a tax write-off for a portion of the premium.
By 2015, employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer those employees health care. But for the next couple of months, large employers can sit back and watch the political mudslinging, said Eric D. Fader, a Day Pitney counsel.
“There”™s a lot of political rhetoric flying around but at its core, the Affordable Care Act is intended to allow those who don”™t have insurance to get insurance,” he said. “Anyone who doesn”™t know what their options are should do some research.”
Fader, the author of Day Pitney”™s new health care blog, said employers won”™t need to make changes to their plans within the next couple months. However it doesn”™t hurt to poke around the exchange”™s website to see what options are out there now, he said.
While initial reports showed website glitches on the first day of the exchange”™s launch, Fader said he believed the website to be easy to use and understand. He did predict, however, that not many small employers would find cost savings on the exchange. He also said he supports the notion that several large employers will opt to pay the $2,000 fee per employee for not offering coverage in 2015.
The penalty only applies after the first 30 employees, so a $40,000 fee will likely be cheaper than paying premiums on 50 employees”™ health care plans, he said. The penalty could increase in the future, however, he said.
When Fader first started to specialize in health care law 25 years ago, he said people”™s eyes used to glaze over at cocktail parties when he”™d mention his line of work. Today that”™s not the case. Health care reform is likely the cocktail party subject of the year.
“It”™s an interesting time to be practicing health care law,” Fader said. “That”™s for sure.”
UPDATE: The original version of this article incorrectly stated the upper threshold of the cost of insurance plans on the ACA exchange. Officials said the upper threshold depended on too many variables to make a broad cost assessment of the top tier.
” Individual policies range from $215 to $347 per month, depending on the level of coverage.”
I looked at this and this is NOT the pricing. Pricing is much higher unless one gets a subsidy. My lowest plan was $440 ( with lousy coverage(bronze)). A more reasonable (silver) was closer to $560 per month. Hardly a great deal unless one has pre-existing conditions. ACA did nothing to make healthcare more affordable. It just shifted the cost from one group to another.
Did you do any research before you wrote this article?