New York SBDC Research Network

About 1.2 million people have now gotten coverage through “Obamacare” nationwide. As of December 9th, 314.146 New Yorkers have completed applications, with 100,881 enrolled. Coverage starts as soon as January 1, 2014 and can begin any month after that. There has been a lot of speculation as to what obligations small businesses will have when it comes to their their employees and the Affordable Care Act.  Media sources have spread inaccurate and unsubstantiated information regarding the law.  The best place to get non-opinionated information are the government websites at the following links. Federal Affordable Care Act for Small Business Website New York State Affordable Care Act for Small Business Website The Federal Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace makes it possible for small businesses to provide qualified health plans to their employees. For 2014, the SHOP Marketplace is open to employers with 50 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees (F

It's one of the first things people ask you when you tell them about your new job: What are the benefits? Health insurance is such an integral part of life that people take jobs just so they will be guaranteed issuance. Now that the Affordable Care Act application process is up and running, people have been buzzing about how it will affect their lives. Startups and entrepreneurs, though, have the potential to be the biggest winners come January when the Obamacare plans go into effect. Chris Mihm, owner of Medicoverage, believes that for a few different reasons the Affordable Care Act is going to revolutionize startup hubs around the country. "Group insurance offers guaranteed issuance – every single employee will get approved no matter if they have cancer or any pre-existing condition of any type," Mihm said of the way health care traditionally worked. "On January 1, 2014, every single person who signs up for insurance is guaranteed issuance. So even if you have a

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration has launched Business.USA.gov/healthcare , a one-stop-shop Website which will provide employers of all sizes educational materials on how the Affordable Care Act may affect businesses and help them compete. The site includes a wizard tool that is tailored based on size and location, so businesses can learn how the law helps them provide affordable coverage options to their employees while still meeting their bottom line. The site will act as a user-friendly hub that connects employers to informational content on tax credits and other provisions of the law from the Small Business Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury Department. As part of the Administration’s ongoing dialogue with leaders of our nation’s top businesses, this latest tool will help ensure that employers of all sizes know what the Affordable Care Act means for them, and have the information they need to take advantage of the new bene

Most nonelderly Americans who have health insurance are covered through an employer, and employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) will continue to be a major source of coverage even after 2014, when the Affordable Care Act’s(ACA’s) Medicaid expansion and subsidies for the purchase of private coverage through health insurance exchanges will take effect. This report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines recent trends in ESI at the national and state level... The percent of the U.S. nonelderly population with ESI declined from 69.7 percent in 1999/2000 to 59.5 percent in 2010/2011. While 47 states and the District of Columbia saw significant declines in coverage during this time period, there is substantial state-level variation in both the magnitude of these declines and in the absolute levels of ESI coverage in each state.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched a new web page and blog dedicated to educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act. The new tools will serve as a gateway for small business owners connecting them with information provided by SBA’s federal partners responsible for implementing the law, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "The Affordable Care Act provides small business owners with access and opportunity to provide affordable health care options for their employees," said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. "SBA’s new Affordable Care Act web page and blog will serve as a resource for small business owners who want learn more about how to take advantage of these benefits." The Affordable Care Act has many beneficial measures specifically for small businesses, including slowing premium cost growth and increased access to quality, affordable health insurance. SBA’s new web page, www.sba.gov/heal

Startup Rates Where are the jobs created? New or existing businesses? What is the level of availability and coverage of health insurance in small firms? Do economic or industry factors affect business survival? What is the difference between self-employment nonemployer businesses and sole proprietors? Credit Card Financing and Small Business Read all about these topics HERE .

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ---- a.k.a. 'Obamacare' ---- remains unpopular with many Americans. Richard Kirsch, a Rockefeller Institute fellow and author of the newly released book Fighting For Our Health, writes in a new commentary that there are several reasons for Americans' dislike of the law, but those reasons have little to do with the law's value. Chief among them is the fact that key provisions don't go into effect for another two years, leaving many people with the idea that the act has achieved little. The challenge for the law's supporters, Kirsch says, is to convince people that help really is on the way. To read Kirsch's commentary, visit the Institute's Web site .

Flooding is the number one natural hazard in the U.S. It doesn’t matter where your business is located, it can still be at risk from hurricanes, flash floods, blocked storm sewers, snow melt, and so on, and unfortunately the devastation can be costly. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, almost 40 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a disaster because just a few inches of water can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage and close your doors long enough to lose your customers. More HERE .

December 2, 2010 letter from Karen Mills, SBA Administrator Dear Small Business Owner, As I’ve traveled the country this year, I have heard from many of you who are looking forward to the new tax credits, health insurance exchanges, and other tools that will help you provide health insurance coverage to your employees as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The most immediate benefit of the new law is a tax credit that will help America’s smallest employers and nonprofit organizations (less than 25 full-time equivalent employees with average annual wages below $50,000) who have been hit hardest by premium increases in recent years. Today, I’m pleased to announce that the Administration is releasing a one-page form and instructions on how to claim this credit for the 2010 tax year . In addition, new guidance released today answers questions that many of you have asked related to: your current contribution arrangements, eligibility for certain religious institutions, and participation by

I believe there are some really good aspects of the new health care bill. This is not one of them: Over-the-counter medications will require a prescription to buy them with flexible spending account funds next year under new health care reform regulations. "The health care reform law sharply restricts FSA reimbursements for OTC purchases such as nonprescription pain relievers, cold medicines, antacids and allergy medications." Insulin is specifically excluded from this ruling. Specifically, "the IRS says OTC reimbursements require a prescription, which it defines as a 'written or electronic order for a medicine or drug that meets the legal requirements of a prescription in the state in which a medical expense is incurred and that is issued by an individual who is legally authorized to issue a prescription in that state,'" whatever THAT means.

From the SBA PRESS OFFICE Administrator Karen Mills of the U.S. Small Business Administration has written an open letter to small business owners across the United States explaining immediate benefits available to small businesses as part of the Affordable Care Act. The full letter is available at http://www.sba.gov/acaletter/ - content is below: *** Dear Small Business Owner, For decades, access to affordable health insurance has been the number-one concern of small business owners. To help you address that concern and provide quality, affordable coverage for your employees, the new Affordable Care Act gives you a number of new tools and benefits . The most immediate benefit you should know about is the tax credit to help you pay for up to 35 percent of your employee premiums starting this tax year. An estimated 4 million small businesses may qualify for these tax credits, totaling about $40 billion over the next 10 years. Go here to learn more about the tax credit , including new in

I still get faxes, a technology that I'd given up for dead. Mind you, most of these are "blast" faxes, promoting fabulous six-day cruises, or great breaks on group health insurance. (In response to this sentence, we'll now likely get "blast" email comments.) Surely, I'm not alone, and this recent article from National Underwriter proves that. It quotes extensively from recent comments made by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud , stating that small businesses, self-employed individuals, and recently-uninsured people are targeted by plans that prove to be ineffective or worthless. Periods of high unemployment are especially vulnerable times for those in need, making these scams even more reprehensible. A money quote: "Typically, the Coalition said, bogus plans promise full health coverage, affordable premiums, and easy signup regardless of preexisting conditions. Victims often must join a fake trade association or union. This ploy, it was exp

From the U.S. PIRG press release: Small business owners are being crushed by rising health care costs, and feel left out of the current health care debate in Washington, according to a new report released by U.S. Public Interest Research Group this month. The new report, The Small Business Dilemma , which surveyed hundreds of small business owners and managers across the country, makes clear that small business owners want and need health care reform. According to the 14-page report: •Small businesses value health insurance as a key to business success because it allows them to attract better employees. •78% of small business owners surveyed who do not offer coverage would like to do so. •80% of those who would like to offer coverage cite the expense of coverage as a reason why they don't *** Also, Small Businesses Struggle to Offer Healthcare from Black Enterprise cites a survey commissioned by Aflac, "the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States"

Today's New York Times features an article called " Small Business is Latest Focus in Health Fight ". It focuses on the efforts of individual states around the U.S. in helping small business employers to provide health care to their workers. (New York isn't mentioned by name, though.) Two sentences jumped out at me: 1) "Of the 47 million uninsured people in this country, at least 20 million are employed by small businesses or work for themselves — a figure that has increased by an average of more than 500,000 a year since 2000." 2) "State laws now typically make it impossible for businesses to cross state lines to create their own purchasing pools, and small companies have had little success to date in being able to band together in sufficient numbers within state borders." Regarding the latter, Federal legislation has been introduced that would ease restrictions on small business' forming pools, even across state lines. The National Federatio

This link describes the contents of a recent (May 2007) study conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses regarding small business' attitudes towards the health care system. As you can imagine, the "survey . . . identified cost as the single most important problem facing the health system today." (A link to the full report is provided.) As a provider of health insurance options to its members , NFIB has a vested interest in this issue. If your clients don't know of these options yet, perhaps you should give them this link.