Hold the phones – small businesses with questions about the new Small Business Health Options Program, better known as the SHOP Exchange, may now call the SHOP for answers to general questions. The Health Insurance Marketplace has published an alert for small businesses providing the number for the SHOP call center. Interested small businesses may reach the Health Insurance Marketplace Small Employer Call Center by dialing 1-800-706-7893 to speak to a customer service representative in English or Spanish. TTY users should call 1-800-706-7915. Call center hours are 9am to 5pm EST, Monday through Friday.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, small employers are those employers with 50 or fewer full time equivalent employees. This number will increase to 100 full time equivalent employees in 2016. In 2014, small employers may use the SHOP to purchase a group health plan for their employees and to qualify for the Small Business Health Insurance Tax Credit. For more information on this tax credit for small employers, please see our prior post. Although the SHOP was intended to provide great flexibility for employees of small employers to choose from a variety of plans offered through the SHOP Exchange, this year small employers may only choose one plan that will be available to their employees. Employees will be able to choose from a variety of plan options in later years. Only Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina will offer plans through the North Carolina SHOP Exchange.
Click here to reach the Health Insurance Marketplace’s alert regarding SHOP and Small Business questions.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
