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Small Business Resources to Assist Record-Breaking Number of New Entrepreneurs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2023
CONTACT: Kristofer Eisenla, LUNA+EISENLA
kristofer@lunaeisenla.com | 202-670-5747 (mobile)
Now is the Time for Small Business Owners and American Public to Utilize Tools and Resources to Review and Select a Plan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – With a week before the start of health insurance open enrollment, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community, is encouraging millions of self-employed small business owners – including the skyrocketing number of new entrepreneurs who may be buying on the marketplace exchange for the first time - to utilize the available tools and resources to select a plan that works best for their needs.
“Now is the time for small business owners, solo entrepreneurs and the American public to review available health care plan options, their budgets, and health care needs in order to select the best plan to meet their personal circumstance,” said Keith Hall, a certified tax accountant and President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community. “All Americans who purchase health care on the exchanges, including the millions of self-employed small business owners, should start researching available plans now to be ready and select the right one by mid-December. The millions of record-breaking, new entrepreneurs who are now part of our country’s small business boom may be purchasing on the exchange for the first time and need to prepare to not be caught off guard, particularly given the rising health care costs that continue to be one of the primary challenges our community faces.”
Open enrollment begins on November 1st and runs through December 15th for coverage beginning on January 1, 2024.
Over the last few years, there has been a surge of new small businesses, including a recent Yelp report illustrating every state was on track to beat last year’s all time high. A new rule published in the Federal Register and finalized in 2020 introduced changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the nation’s health care law, resulting in new benefit and payment parameters impacting America’s small business and self-employed community. Provisions of the rule impacting both current and future health care and Medicare beneficiaries affects eligibility, enrollment, and coverage details.
“As more Americans sign-up for health care coverage, America’s new and existing entrepreneurs may need a refresher about how these policies will impact them. Many of these policies strengthened the integrity of both federal and state-based health insurance exchanges. Overall, the new entrepreneurs of our American workforce now benefit from a more predictable regulatory environment, lower prescription drugs costs, and greater transparency. America’s health care law, the Affordable Care Act, has resulted in a skyrocketing number of individuals who have signed up for health care insurance and now have access to more enrollment options, hardship flexibility, and special enrollment options. There are resources out there available to you – from organizations like the NASE to healthcare.com to community associations ready to assist you,” concluded Hall.
Important Tools and Resources:
Key Dates and Topics for Discussion:
- Open Enrollment Term: The period now runs between November 1st through December 15th
- Sign-Up Before December 15th to Begin Coverage January 1st, 2024: You must complete your new or renewal application before 11:59 p.m., Dec. 15th, for your health insurance coverage to begin Jan. 1, 2020. If you miss this deadline, you can still sign up for a Marketplace health plan until January 15th, 2024, where your coverage would not start until February 1st, 2024. After that, you must qualify for a special life event under the Special Enrollment Period.
- The HRA Rule is Still Available: Beginning in 2020, employers started offering a new health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) option to employees to purchase coverage in the individual market. Employers now offer this new HRA pursuant to a new rule finalized in June 2019 and in effect in 2020.
NASE was a major proponent of the new HRA rule and advocated on the issue for several years since the passage of the ACA and previous guidance restricting HRA use by small employers.
To Speak with Keith Hall, NASE president and CEO please contact Kristofer Eisenla at Kristofer@lunaeisenla.com
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The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, offering a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy.
The NASE NextBizThing helps identify and connect our nation’s smallest businesses. Need small business help? Check out NASE’s Ask the Experts for advice or the NASE Minute for small business support.
The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's website at NASE.org