Tag: small employers

State-Based Marketplaces Find Value, Potential Opportunity for Growth in Small-Business Offering

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Small businesses have historically struggled to provide coverage to their workers. The ACA sought to address these issues through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), creating marketplaces for small employers to offer coverage to their employees. In a new post for the Commonwealth Fund’s To the Point blog, CHIR experts take a look at ways that state-based marketplaces are investing in their SHOPs, and how some are seeing enrollment growth and savings for small businesses.

Virginia’s Enrollment Season Perfect Storm

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Across the country, states are yet again dealing with policy changes just before the fall open enrollment season. Virginia, however, is a special case. The state is dealing with simultaneous implementation of Medicaid expansion, expanded short-term limited duration insurance and association health plans, and changes to the definition of sole proprietors for small employers, all with less funding for the navigator program. CHIR’s Olivia Hoppe breaks down how each change affects Virginians.

When Policy and Politics Conflict: Challenges to State-level Market Stabilization Efforts

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Within the last month, Delaware has adopted two policies with diametrically different effects on their small business insurance market. One would help make the market stronger and more stable, the other would do the opposite. CHIR’s Sabrina Corlette delves into some of the challenges facing states seeking to stabilize their health insurance markets during a time of considerable policy upheaval.

Affordable Care Act Legislation Affecting Small Employers Sparks Rare Bipartisanship

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Yesterday, the Health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing on H.R. 1624, a bill that if enacted, would repeal an ACA provision changing the definition of small employer to 1-100 employees. The bill would also allow states to determine the definition of the small group market; all states currently define the small group market as employers with 1-50 employees. CHIR’s Sandy Ahn shares highlights of the hearing and the debate over the impact on small businesses.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual blog post authors and do not represent the views of Georgetown University, the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, any organization that the author is affiliated with, or the opinions of any other author who publishes on this blog.