I work for a small business (less than 10 employees). Today my boss mentioned that he had just met with the CPA that does the business taxes every year, and the accountant told him he could not be providing insurance to the employees. My initial reactions were, in order, a) to stare at my boss as if he had three heads; and b) to say, "So is this CPA competent or is he a rabid right wing nutjob?" out loud to my boss (who is a rabid, right wing nutjob)! From there, I tried to gather a few more facts, but they were few and far between. I told my boss that there had to be some missing information, because the ACA was not at all about eliminating insurance. I agreed that yes, because he provided insurance (only three people take it through the company: the boss, his wife, and one employee), employees could not seek insurance through the exchange. And I further informed him that, as far as I knew, if he did not purchase insurance through SHOP, he was not eligible for any tax credit. He continued to insist, however, that he could not reimburse employees for insurance...while I pointed out that he was not reimbursing anyone; he was paying 50% of the insurance each month as part of the employee compensation.
So, my questions are as follows:
Does anyone have a clue as to what may be the real circumstance here?
Does anyone have suggestions for questions I should be asking to get to the bottom of this?
My concern is not personal; my husband is retired military, and our insurance coverage is through him. But I know my boss is predisposed to hate Obamacare and looks for any way to blame the government for anything and everything. I honestly think he may have selectively heard what he wanted to hear from the CPA, facts be damned, but the employee that does take insurance through the company would likely be hurt by any change.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.