News and Updates

SHOP Exchange Delayed The Obama administration plans to delay a piece of the federal health law designed to help small businesses shop for insurance policies, citing the need for additional time to prepare. The Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, is supposed to provide small employers with an insurance marketplace, or exchange, that offers … Read more

How the ACA will Affect Small Businesses and Their Employees   Several provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will likely have significant effects on small businesses, their employees, and families. Currently, smaller businesses are less likely to offer health insurance coverage to their employees than larger companies: 57% of small businesses with 50 or … Read more

Actuarial Value                  Actuarial Value, or AV, is calculated as the percentage of total average costs for covered benefits that a plan will cover. For example, if a plan has an AV of 70 percent, on average, a consumer could expect to be responsible generally for 30 percent of the costs of all covered benefits … Read more

Essential Health Benefits                 On February 20, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule that helps consumers shop for and compare health insurance options in the individual and small group markets by promoting consistency across plans, protecting consumers by ensuring that plans cover a core package of items that … Read more

Government Subsidies Under the Affordable Care Act Citizens and legal residents in families with incomes between 100% and 400% of poverty who purchase coverage through a health insurance exchange are eligible for a tax credit to reduce the cost of coverage. In states without expanded Medicaid coverage, people with incomes less than 100% of poverty … Read more