The Affordable Care Act, which was enacted on March 23, 2010, requires any company with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance to their employees. It has been established that ObamaCare effects job growth, hiring, wages and operating costs. Right now we don’t have any supporting evidence that ObamaCare is actually costing businesses much more than prior to the Act; however that’s not to say companies aren’t downsizing, cutting hours, or not hiring, preparing to change the Act applying to them.

The requirement for employers with 50 full-time employees or more to pay a penalty for not insuring workers is where the increase in operational costs comes in. According to a survey conducted by The Henry J. Kaiser’s Family Foundation described on Entrepreneur.com, “more than 90% of businesses with 51 or more workers already provided coverage in 2011”. In fact, many companies even offered part-time employees medical benefits like UPS and Starbucks.

The question remains to dispute, is the Affordable Care Act as bad for business as it seemed back in 2010?

As an employer there are proactive steps to take to determine how the Affordable Care Act will effect you. Keep in mind the penalty and fee of $2,000 per year for each full-time employee if this Act does apply to your company and you do not make the proper adjustments.

Here are some valuable resources to determine if you have all your ducks in a row when it comes to the Affordable Care Act.

The Henry J. Kaiser’s Family Foundation

Health Reform for Small Business

Are you prepared?

Keep in mind the benefits of outsourcing to an Employment Agency while determining your companies plan of action around the Affordable Care Act.

Tell us how the Affordable Care Act has effected your company, job market wise or in general, by visiting us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cps.somerville. We look forward to hearing from you.