Content about U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

April 12, 2013

Complications arise over healthcare choices

The Health and Human Services Department proposes to delay a requirement that offers plan choices to small firms.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule delaying by one year, until 2015, a requirement that government-run health insurance exchanges offer small businesses the opportunity to select among competing plans through health care reform’s Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). HHS cited administrative delays that will prevent the exchanges from meeting the original deadline for including SHOP options.

February 6, 2013

Making the ‘play or pay’ decision

As key provisions of healthcare reform under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) move closer to implementation, employers need to consider how they will respond.

As key provisions of healthcare reform under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) move closer to implementation, employers need to consider how they will respond. More specifically, employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees need to decide whether they will “play” by continuing or beginning to offer affordable health benefits to employees working an average of 30 hours or more per week in a month, or “pay” the penalties for not offering affordable benefits.