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I own a small business (less than 50 employees)

What happens to small businesses under health reform?
It depends on the size of your company. Companies with fewer than 50 workers won’t face any penalties if they don’t didn't offer health insurance.

Companies can get tax credits to help buy insurance if they have 25 or fewer employees and a workforce with an average wage of up to $50,000. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of the cost of premiums will be available this year and will reach 50 percent in 2014. The full credits are for the smallest firms with low-wage workers; the subsidies shrink as companies' workforces and average wages rise.

Companies with more than 50 employees that do not offer coverage will have to pay a fee of up to $2,000 per full-time employee if any of their workers get government-subsidized insurance coverage in the exchanges. T he first 30 workers will be excluded from the assessment.

If I provide health coverage to my employees, can I keep that health plan under health reform?
Yes. Nothing in the new law requires you to change your health plan.

What will happen to my insurance costs?
That’s hard to predict, and no agreement has been reached on an answer. The new law is hoping to encourage people to stay well through preventive care and wellness programs, which means that they won’t be sick as often and, when they do get sick, they won’t be as expensive to treat. The goal is to lower the cost of care, which would in turn lower the cost of coverage.

The bigger question is what happens to rising medical costs, which drive up the cost of coverage. Even proponents acknowledge that efforts in the legislation to control health costs, such as a new board to oversee Medicare spending, won’t have much of an effect for several years.

I want to provide health coverage to my employees but can’t afford it.
Under the Affordable Care Act, companies can get tax credits to help buy insurance if they have 25 or fewer employees and a workforce with an average wage of up to $50,000. Tax credits of up to 35 percent of the cost of premiums will be available this year and will reach 50 percent in 2014. The full credits are for the smallest firms with low-wage workers; the subsidies shrink as companies' workforces and average wages rise.

If you own a small business in Travis, Hays, or Williamson County, you may be eligible to participate in TexHealth Central Texas, a community-based nonprofit company offering a low-cost health benefits. For more information, visit TexHealth’s website: http://www.texhealthcentraltex.org/.

The Texas Department of Insurance also administers an insurance program for small employers called Healthy Texas. To learn more about this program, visit http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/health/healthytexas.html.