Small-business owners can learn the basics of Obamacare and what it means for their companies and employees during Small Business Administration-sponsored free webinars beginning Thursday.
The act requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance.
Though the Obama administration has delayed the penalty businesses would face if they did not comply with this mandate, the federal government and state governments are establishing marketplaces where businesses can buy group insurance plans.
These marketplaces will have an enrollment period that begins Oct. 1.
Each of the SBA’s Affordable Care Act 101 webinars will include information on federal as well as state provisions of the law and include a question-and-answer session.
Seminars will begin at 2 p.m. and last an hour. They will be this Thursday and the two following Thursdays: Aug. 8 and Aug. 15.
More dates will be added.
To register for a seminar, visit www.sba.gov/healthcare and click on “Affordable Care Act 101 Weekly Webinar Series” under the “Recent Blogs About Health Care” headline on the right side of the page.
Registration information also is available by going directly to: www.sba.gov/community/blogs/affordable-care-act-101-weekly-webinar- series.
Topics to be discussed during each seminar will include who is eligible for small-business tax credits (available to businesses and tax-exempt nonprofits), government-established marketplaces and containing costs.
A question-and-answer period will follow the discussion.
The U.S. SBA is working with an advocacy group that supports Obamacare — the Small Business Majority — to present the webinars.
Information on the marketplaces and other aspects of the Affordable Care Act are available at www.healthcare.gov.
The National Federation of Independent Business, among the groups that fought against Obamacare, also has information on Obamacare at its website, www.nfib.com. Click on the “Business Resources” tab.
Staff writer Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.
