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SBA released a new tool to help small businesses understand healthcare options
The SBA announced a new online tool to help you and your clients better understand the so- called Affordable Care Act. This tool takes you through a series of question to help you gain an understanding of your options, how you are affected and where you can go to get assistance.
Health Care Changes: A New Tool for Small Business Owners
by Karen Mills, SBA Administrator
Affordable health care is a top concern for America’s 28 million small businesses. During my travels, I’ve had a number of small business owners across the country tell me that the moment they really felt their business was a success was the day they were able to offer health insurance to their employees. But we know that many small business owners may still be wondering when that day will be and what the Affordable Care Act can do to help.
Depending on the size of your business, different provisions of the Affordable Care Act may apply. This is why it’s so important that small business owners know the facts about the law and use them to make any business decisions.
Today, we’re excited to announce a new, streamlined health care tool for businesses --housed at Business.USA.gov -- to help you find out exactly what you and your employees need to know about the Affordable Care Act. Business.USA.gov leverages the resources of our partners across the federal government to ensure that business owners get comprehensive information and easy-to-use tools related to range of topics, including health care.
In a few quick steps, the streamlined tool can help you understand what you need to know about new insurance options and other health care changes as well as find health care-related resources that are relevant to your business.
The tool uses various prompts including your business’s location, size, and whether you currently offer insurance to connect you with the resources you need from Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Treasury and our other federal partners. For example, if you’re a small business owner in Oregon with 35 full-time employees who already offers insurance and wants to continue the coverage you currently use, the health care tool can use this information to connect you with the best resources and information available to help inform your plans.
The SBA has also joined forces with our partners at Small Business Majority to offer a weekly webinar series designed to educate small business owners across the country about what the Affordable Care Act means for them. We’ll be offering these webinars, which are free and open to all small business owners, every Thursday until October when the Marketplaces open for enrollment.
The Affordable Care Act allows small employers to offer health coverage in a way that makes sense for their business and works for their bottom line. Now, more than ever, SBA is committed to leveraging our resources and federal partnerships to ensure that small business owners have the facts and resources you need to understand the law.