Small Group: Covered California Opened for Enrollment Oct. 1st

Due to the signing of the Affordable Care Act, most adults will be required to purchase public or private insurance by the beginning of the new year or face a fine. Under California’s new Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), Covered California opened for small group enrollment on Oct. 1, 2013, for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

California businesses with less than 50 employees can benefit from better choices, online tools and competitively priced, small group health insurance plans similar to those previously only available to large group employers.

While small businesses are not required to enroll in the Covered California’s SHOP, and are not penalized for not participating, the exchanges will allow you to more easily provide health insurance to your employees. In addition, some businesses with less than 25 employees may be able to take advantage of Federal tax credits only available through SHOP.

Small business owners can begin enrolling in the SHOP plans on October 1, 2013, when the health exchange opens. The plans are competitively priced, and will allow you to offer your employees the ability to choose from a variety of plans, while possibly qualifying for federal tax credits.

Are you ready for the new federal health care laws going into effect in 2014? If you have questions about how to provide affordable small group coverage for your employees, or are confused about how an exchange works, contact the Redlands, California insurance experts at Bernardini & Donovan Insurance Services today.

Individual Health Insurance: Covered California Opened for Enrollment Today

If you don’t have insurance through your employer you will need to get coverage by January 1, 2014. Covered California, the new health insurance exchange operating throughout the state, will function as a marketplace through which you can compare insurance plans available to you and find the coverage you need. Covered California opened for enrollment today, October 1, 2013, to set plans in place that will begin on January 1, 2014. Failure to establish insurance for the next year may lead to fines or penalties.

Many California residents don’t have insurance because they believe it will be too expensive, but under the changes made by the Affordable Care Act insurance coverage will become far more reasonable for everyone. There are also federal programs available to support those that simply cannot afford their medical coverage.

Covered California will be serving anyone who is a resident of the state. Insurance can no longer be denied to anyone due to previous health conditions, and essential health benefits are required to be available in all plans regardless of their cost. For more information about how an exchange works and how to use exchanges to find individual health insurance contact the insurance experts at Bernardini & Donovan Insurance Services.

Our website uses cookies and thereby collects information about your visit to improve our website (by analyzing), show you Social Media content and relevant advertisements. Please see our cookies page for furher details or agree by clicking the 'Accept' button.

Cookie settings

Below you can choose which kind of cookies you allow on this website. Click on the "Save cookie settings" button to apply your choice.

FunctionalOur website uses functional cookies. These cookies are necessary to let our website work.