The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace, which serves small employers who want to provide health and dental coverage to their employees, has added new features for 2016.
To use the SHOP Marketplace, a business or non-profit organization must have no more than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), and typically at least 70% of the employees who are offered coverage must enroll or have coverage from another source. (Some states make the SHOP Marketplace available to businesses with up to 100 employees, and have different minimum participate rates.)
Starting with 2016 coverage, through the SHOP Marketplace employers can:
Offer their employees a single health insurance plan, or let them select any plan within a coverage category.
Offer a health plan only, health and dental plans, or a dental plan only.
Renew their SHOP Marketplace coverage online, without having to fill out a new application. Many parts of an employer’s existing application will now be saved online, including the employee roster.
Employers will now be able to meet the SHOP Marketplace minimum participation rate more easily. Employees with other kinds of coverage will be included in the calculation.