Last week both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously decided upon a bill to repeal the definition of a small employer in the Affordable Care Act. The definition of a small employer is currently a state decision where the number of employees ranges from 1-50. With healthcare reform under the Affordable Care Act, that definition was going to change to a group of 1-100 employees as of January 1, 2016.
It is quite clear that employers throughout the nation as well as insurance industry associations applied significant pressure on legislators for change. Many believe if the definition of a small employer did change in 2016, that premiums for employers in the 50-100 market would increase significantly and may be forced into looking at self-insured options.
President Obama continued this motion and signed the bill into law on October 7th, 2015. This would allow the definition of a small employer to become a state decision, rather than a national regulation. If the bill is passed, it will save small employers across the nation from dealing with some of the negative effects of Obamacare. Although we want to see many more changes to the ACA, we consider this legislation a victory. To read more on a summary of this bill to repeal the change in definition of a small employer click here.