Health insurance is like a lot like burpees: painful, boring and, sadly…necessary.
We know you would rather read about deals on wall-mount systems or the benefits of double unders versus singles, but, like burpees, insurance is unavoidable, especially in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act.
On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA), designed with the intent that every American citizen should have health care.
There is much that can be said for and against the legislation, but what it means for Affiliates is this:
- Box owners with 50 full-time staff members will need to provide health insurance coverage for their employees.
- Those that do not provide health insurance coverage will have to pay a penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee in excess of 30 full-time employees. Before your heart rate starts spiking, keep in mind that box owners with fewer than 50 full-time employees are completely exempt from the law’s employer-responsibility provisions.
- Those box owners with up to 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 will be eligible for a tax credit of up to 35% of the employer cost of providing employee insurance. This credit will increase in 2014 to 50 percent for small businesses newly offering insurance through private insurance marketplaces called “exchanges.” The concept behind “exchanges” is to create a competitive, fair-market environment for choosing insurance and to provide much-needed bargaining power for small businesses.
Health insurance is admittedly costly, but, remember, box owners with fewer than 50 full-time employees are not required to contribute to their employees’ medical coverage.
And, fortunately, a box gym is a community of health-conscious people. Affiliates that choose or are required to offer medical insurance coverage will find their incredibly fit staff members will likely not require costly plans, and many may already be insured through other employers. The ACA also now allows adults up to 26 years old to remain on their parents’ insurance plans, so younger staff may choose to stay insured that way.
So where do you begin to look at insurance options? You might want to check out Affiliate Guard.
Affiliate Guard has made affordable healthcare available to members of the community. Their new custom-designed Affiliate Guard Benefits Portal offers Affiliate owners, employees and members a variety of low-cost benefits including health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, vision insurance and even pet insurance. All of the plans can be applied for online, are nationwide, and offer the most affordable, competitive plans available in your state and area of residence.
Individual and Family coverage can now be purchased at rates that are much less than group rates offered by employer plans….if the applicants are healthy. And, the box community is healthy! Affiliate Guard will be launching the Benefits Portal to the box community in the next few weeks. So keep an eye out.
In the meantime, we encourage you to read more about the Affordable Care Act: