Small business now means 50 or fewer staff under Obamacare

•Small businessê now means 50 or fewer staff under Obamacare

President Obama has signed a law that changes the definition of –small business” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from 100 to 50 or fewer employees. Each state plus DC has the option of operating under that new definition or under the one originally in the ACA of 100 or fewer employees.

Maryland quickly announced it would go with 50 or fewer. Virginia and DC have yet to announce their intentions. They will want to give their insurance carriers time to prepare, so they will likely announce their choice in the next month or two.

It could make a big difference to dealers that fall in the 50 to 100 employee range whether their dealership group is classified as a small business or not. Under the Affordable Care Act, a small businessês rates are based almost exclusively on the claims of a large pool of businesses, not on the claims history of that business. Individual rates within a small group plan are largely based on age. This could result in older, tenured employees having to pay more for their portion of medical premiums.

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