Just a few days after the federal government
delayed online enrollment, California announced better news for small
businesses who want to buy health insurance.
Businesses with up to 50 employees can begin signing up online for coverage
through the state’s new marketplace, officials announced Monday.
California operates its own health insurance marketplace, however, so it
isn’t affected by the federal government’s delay, said Peter Lee, executive
director of the Covered California insurance exchange.
“We have planned for this day,” he said during a press conference at the Los
Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve tested for this day. And we are ready
and open for business.”
On the Covered California website,
firms can compare health insurance plans and choose what to offer to employees.
Their workers can then select from among different plans. Participating
insurers include Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California and Health Net,
among others.
Many companies will be able to receive a tax credit, meaning the federal
government will help cover their portion of the employee premiums. To be
eligible for tax credits, businesses must have fewer than 25 full-time
employees, pay employees less than $50,000 a year and cover at least half of the
full-time employees’ premiums.
The state expects about 7,000 companies to enroll by the end of 2014.
Businesses can also purchase Covered California insurance through licensed
agents.
Covered California board member Paul Fearer said providing insurance keeps
employees healthier and makes them less likely to miss work. It also enables
businesses to recruit and retain talent and to operate on “equal footing” with
larger companies, he said.
About half of the 650,000 small businesses in the state do not now provide
coverage to their workers, mostly because of the cost, said John
Arensmeyer, CEO of the Small Business Majority, a Los Angeles–based advocacy
organization.
“This could not come at a better time for California’s small businesses,” he
said. “Small businesses are going to have the same opportunities as big
businesses to pool together to negotiate the best prices and the best quality
and reduce administrative costs.”
Even with tax credits, however, some still won’t be able to take advantage of
the program. “They will not be able to offer coverage tomorrow just as they
can’t today,” Lee said.
He said the small business program is not the “be all, end all,” but rather
part of the broader state effort to make sure all Californians get coverage.
agorman@kff.org | @annagorman
The Blue Shield of
California Foundation helps support KHN’s coverage of California.