What does it mean if you miss the March 31 deadline for signing up for health insurance as required by the Affordable Care Act?
For one thing, there is a financial penalty if you don’t comply with the law. According a handy Q&A from Kaiser Health News:
For individuals, the penalty this year is the greater of either $95 or up to 1 percent of the portion of the person’s modified adjusted gross income that exceeds $10,150, which is the level that requires you to file a tax return. That rises to $695, or 2.5 percent of income, by 2016. For families this year the penalty is $285 or 1 percent of the portion of modified adjusted gross income over $20,300. That will grow in 2016 to $2,085 or 2.5 percent of household income, whichever is greater.
The article includes this for business owners:
I own a small business. Will I have to buy health insurance for my workers?
No employer is required to provide insurance. But starting in 2016 – a two-year delay from the previous date of 2014 – businesses with 50 to 99 employees that don’t provide health care coverage and have at least one full-time worker who receives subsidized coverage in the health insurance exchange will have to pay a fee of $2,000 per full-time employee. The firm’s first 30 workers would be excluded from the fee. In addition, starting next year, employers with 100 or more employees will be required to offer insurance to 70 percent of workers rather than 95 percent as the law previously required. They will have to cover 95 percent of workers starting in 2016.
However, firms with fewer than 50 people won’t face any penalties.
In addition, if you own a small business and purchase insurance through the health marketplace, the health law offers a tax credit to help cover the cost. Employers with fewer than 25 full-time workers who earn an average yearly salary of $50,000 or less can qualify. Employers must pay at least 50 percent of their full-time employee’s premium costs to get the credit.
