Earlier this month, Flexible Benefit Service Corporation, or Flex, released a site dedicated to helping employees of SMB organizations find a proper, affordable health care plan, as required by the Affordable Care Act. Flex, a company with 25 years of experience, currently serves over 5000 partner groups in Illinois.
“For many small-to-midsize businesses, group health insurance plans are simply too expensive,” said John DiVito, President of Flex. “However, many SMBs recognize the pressure, financial burden and confusion facing their employees. By working with InsureXSolutions, small businesses can give employees the ability to select individual health plans from numerous insurance companies that will fit their lifestyle and budgets. Along the way, employees are supported by a call center with licensed insurance professionals who can help them find the right coverage.”
Flex developed InsureXSolutions to be a simpler way to navigate the waters of ACA-compliance. As of this writing, the ACA requires all employees (individuals) to have health care coverage by March 31, 2014. For organizations with 50 or more employees, the responsibility falls to the company to provide a plan by Jan 1, 2015. For the smaller companies, however, the responsibility rests on the employees to secure a health plan, if the employer does not provide group coverage. For those who do not get a health plan by March 31, 2014, it will cost $95.00 per adult and $47.50 per child or 1% of total income each month. By 2016, this will rise to $695.00 per adult and $347.50 per child or 2.5% of total income per month.
Flex reported that about 70% of SMB businesses in their home state of Illinois are without health insurance, which amounts to approximately 150,000 businesses.
