Changes

The SHOP Marketplace or Exchange (Small Business Health Options Program, is a provision of the ACA designed to help small businesses get lower health insurance rates using group plans and also to claim tax credits. However the SHOP exchange did not open up to employers with less than 50 FTE until 2015 and only just opened up in 2016 to businesses with 100 FTE or less. A SHOP allows for some employer choice functions, thus, enabling employers to choose from a larger field of available coverage options for its employees [http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc501935/m1/1/high_res_d/R43181_2015Jan15.pdf]. However, it is still unclear whether there is a financial advantage in using the SHOP exchanges, as insurers in the marketplace regardless will still be unable to charge premiums based on health status, and workers using the SHOP exchanges, will become ineligible for subsidies when they buy their own insurance [http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st356]. What the SHOP program does do, however, is offer small businesses increased buying power in the group-plan market (an advantage only larger firms used to possess), and the exchange also offers a simpler way to compare prices, coverage, and quality of plans [http://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/shop-exchange/].

There is a temporary health insurance tax credit available to firms with 25 or fewer employees and making less than $50,000 in annual wages, but many firms will not meet the strict requirements necessary for obtaining the generous tax credit. To qualify for the small business tax credit, employers have to cover at least 50% of employee-only health care coverage for every employee. Additionally, there are further stipulations and qualifications, such as employers with 10 or fewer FTE with annual wages of less than $10,000 can qualify for the full tax credit for up to 50% of their share of employee premiums. The health insurance tax credit became available to firms in 2014 [http://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/shop-exchange/]. However, this tax credit is extremely under-inclusive, and according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, only one in three small businesses qualify [http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st356].