Feds Delay Small-Business Health Care Program

WASHINGTON -- Small businesses may not have an insurance market set up specifically for them when the state and federal health exchanges begin in January, government officials said Monday.

Instead, the federal government announced that the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) will be delayed until 2015. Small-business employees will still be able to get insurance, but the states have the option to limit that to one choice, rather than a variety of plans, for the first year.

"For transitional purposes we have proposed that in 2014, a SHOP may elect to have businesses choose one plan to offer employees, and in 2015 employees will be able to choose from the full range of plans in the Marketplace," Health and Human Services said in a statement.

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Source: USA Today