Healthcare

As enrollment in the new individual health insurance marketplace quickly approaches the March 31 cut-off date, now is the time to act to get enrolled if you’re self-employed, or to help get your employees enrolled if you’re a small business owner who doesn’t offer coverage. Folks can enroll right up until March 31, so take a few minutes today or over the weekend and get covered.

Engaging with small business owners on a topic like healthcare is never an easy thing. The terminology is complicated, the law is complex and it’s an incredibly personal issue for many people. What is easy, however, is listening to small business owners’ concerns, and talking them through. Everyone wants to be heard.

Today’s announcement that Kurt DelBene is taking over the helm of Healthcare.gov is welcome news for small businesses and consumers who are looking forward to using the website to shop for health coverage. DelBene has shown expertise in managing teams and solving complex technology projects during his time as president of the Microsoft Office Division.

With full implementation of healthcare reform just a few weeks away, our team is working harder than ever to educate small business owners across the nation about the new health insurance marketplaces. In fact, last month alone we held nearly 100 outreach events for small business owners. We also recently launched a series of websites that walk small business owners through the small business marketplaces and provide resources that will help them begin the enrollment process.

Health insurance marketplaces, being set up under the new healthcare law, will be implemented on Oct. 1. Despite the law being more than 3 years old, anything surrounding it, including these insurance marketplaces–the most important provision for small business owners–remains a hotbed of controversy and confusion for many small business owners. Enter Small Business Majority – the leading organization in the nation in terms of educating small business owners about the Affordable Care Act and these new health exchanges.

Statement by John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority, on the announcement today that online enrollment for small business exchanges in some states will be delayed a month

The announcement today that the ability for small businesses to enroll online in some small business health insurance marketplaces is delayed for a month is disappointing, but doesn’t change the fact that these exchanges will still be open for business on October 1 and coverage will begin as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2014.

The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are launching the Affordable Care Act 101 weekly webinar series.  Each week, SBA representatives will walk through the key pieces of the law so that small business owners can understand the facts and make the most informed decisions they can about providing health insurance for their employees.

This free series will focus on both federal and state provisions to help small business owners understand how the law will affect them. Topics being discussed include:

This memo was originally issued on April 4, 2013:

The Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to delay critical requirements for small business health insurance exchanges in some states is a disappointment to Small Business Majority and millions of small businesses. It’s a letdown to small business owners and their employees looking forward to robust, competitive exchanges in 2014. We hope this proposal is recognized as counterproductive and is abandoned.

This week marks the third anniversary of the health care law’s passage. Given the amount of airtime the law still gets, it’s hard to believe the Affordable Care Act has been on the books that long. The law continues to generate controversy from the corridors of Capitol Hill to the sidewalks of Main Street, but in fact many important provisions impacting our country’s primary job creators have been quietly helping small business owners better afford health insurance.