With many employers having a variety of deadlines in their heads regarding the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, this may be leaving managers wondering about whether they can renew their workers' employee benefits ahead of the health reform law going into effect.
But as health insurance expert Karen Klein of Bloomberg Businessweek notes, employers should have no qualms about renewing their expiring health plans, provided they're content with the coverage they're getting from their current insurer.
Typically, when a company's insurance plan for workers expires, they can shop around to another provider if they feel it's in their interest. Company owners can still do that, but they should keep in mind that the state-based exchanges will be launching October 1 and selling of these policies will begin January 2014. This can serve as another option business owners may want to consider in what plans they make available to workers.
Klein additionally notes that these insurance marketplaces may be in business owners' interest, as depending on their eligibility, they may be able to apply for certain tax credits, potentially saving them as much as 50 percent of their overall costs. The Internal Revenue Service provides additional details at their website.
It's important to note, however, that many states have yet to give an indication as to whether they will open these insurance exchanges – even though states are obligated to. States have the option of running them independently or allowing the federal government to operate them. In April, Kaiser Health News reported that several states spent millions of dollars in order to determine the cost-effectiveness of letting federal officials control the operation of these marketplaces.
