Many small business owners in Pennsylvania choose to offer health insurance to their employees, as the state defines small businesses as those with 50 or fewer full-time employees. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires employers that offer group health plans to provide them to all employees in similar situations. Employers can only offer group health insurance to full-time workers or to workers based on the length of their services or jobs, and all employees must be treated the same. Small business owners in Pennsylvania are not required by law to offer health insurance, but they can always do so if they choose.
The Affordable Care Act does not include a mandate for employers to offer health insurance, but it does impose sanctions on employers with 50 or more full-time workers who do not offer health insurance. The new Pennsylvania law affects employers with between two and 19 employees who maintain important hospital, surgical and medical insurance plans for their employees. If an employer does not offer the insurance required in an employment contract or offers it in a discriminatory manner, the employee may have legal rights. The federal law known as COBRA requires employers with 20 or more employees to allow their employees to continue participating in a company health plan after that coverage normally ends, such as when employment ends.
This means that employers are likely to offer health insurance, but it is legal for them not to do so if they choose.
