NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan marketplace, as experienced “overwhelming success” with New York’s Small Business Marketplace (SBM) following implementation of a simplified enrollment process and the addition of thousands of new plan options in April 2018, according to the Department of Health.
Since then, the number of small employers participating in the SBM has grown to 12,219, an increase of 465 percent, officials said. Greater plan choice and easier access to the federal Small Business Health Care Tax Credit have contributed to the rapid growth.
“Small business tax credits are alive and well under the Affordable Care Act,” said NY State of Health Executive Director Donna Frescatore. “It’s now easier than ever for qualified employers in New York State to offer their employees affordable health coverage while saving money. We continue to reach out to the broker community and directly to insurers to make the tax credit even more accessible in 2019.”
Enrollment in New York’s SBM is open year-round.
Eligible employers who offer coverage therefore still have the opportunity in 2019 to qualify for the federal Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. Employers can access tax credits by completing a short application here and enrolling in Marketplace-certified plans directly through an insurer or broker of their choice.
Previously, small businesses could access tax credits if they enrolled through the NY State of Health website and selected from a limited number of plans. Today there are nine insurers offering more than 2,000 plans through New York’s SBM, officials said.
The SBM is open to businesses operating in New York with 100 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is available to businesses with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees with an average annual employee salary of $53,000 or less (excluding the owners’ salaries); whose contribution towards the lowest cost employee coverage is at least 50 percent; and who make coverage available to all full-time employees.
Small employers can receive up to 50 percent (35 percent for non-profit employers) of their contribution toward employee coverage.
To learn more about New York’s Small Business Marketplace, contact a NY State of Health certified broker or navigator, call the Marketplace at 1-855-355-5777 or log onto www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov.
