Connecticut: Access Health CT Sm. Business waives certain enrollment requirements thru 12/15

via Access Health CT:

Access Health CT Waives Requirement for Certain Small Businesses to Enroll in a Group Health Insurance Plan Through December 15

• Small businesses can enroll in group health insurance at any time of year, but they usually need a certain percentage of employees to participate in the plan

HARTFORD, Conn. (Nov. 23, 2022) — Access Health CT (AHCT) Small Business today announced it will waive the minimum number of employees typically required to enroll in a small group health insurance plan now through Dec. 15.

Small businesses can enroll in a group health insurance plan at any time of year. However, they usually need a certain percentage of employees to participate in the plan. During this period, any small business with 50 or fewer employees in Connecticut can enroll in a group health insurance plan regardless of how many employees participate.

This opportunity, called the Employee Participation Waiver Period for small businesses, is only offered to new groups not currently enrolled through Access Health CT Small Business.

“This period happens only once a year,” said John Carbone, Access Health CT Director of Small Business and Product Development. “Requirements can be an obstacle, and the employee participation waiver is designed to enable small business owners to access group health insurance plans they otherwise may not have been able to provide to their employees.”

The Employee Participation Waiver Period may be particularly helpful to small business owners this year. While health insurance may have been seen as a perk or benefit, now most employees view it as a compensation requirement almost as important as pay. Offering health insurance is critical to recruiting and retaining the top talent that all businesses need.

To learn more about how to make health insurance possible for your small business, visit AccessHealthCTSmallBiz.com to request a free quote or find a broker near you.

Huh. I haven't written much about the ACA's Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP, although it should really be SBHOP except that sounds too awkward) in quite awhile. To my knowledge its never enrolled more than around 200,000 people nationally, with the bulk of that happening in just California, New York and, interestingly, the District of Columbia, where a disproportionate number of people are enrolled due to the ACA requiring members of Congress and their staff to enroll via the DC SHOP exchange in order to receive their Federal Employee Health Benefit discount.