New website offers Rx for healthcare law confusion

Getty ImageFrom SAF news briefs:

Ready or not, health care reform is here to stay. Business owners have nine months to implement this complex new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2014 — but SAF has a tool to help floral business owners.

SAF's new Health Care Resource Center spells out the law’s key provisions in easy-to-understand language, and its step-by-step Planning Tool points a business owner toward specific requirements depending on how ACA rules define a company’s size.

SAF volunteer leaders and attendees at Congressional Action Days (CAD) previewed the site last week. “My initial reaction was WOW! I really think this can be a great resource for big or small firms,” said Marvin Miller, AAF, of Ball Horticultural Company, SAF’s Government Relations Committee chairman.

Eugene, Ore., flower shop owner Shirley Lyons, AAF, of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts, took a look and breathed a sigh of relief. “The details business owners must assimilate surrounding the Affordable Health Care Act can seem mind numbing and daunting. Just reading the government information and trying to determine your staff status alone is a challenge,” said SAF's president-elect. “I was delighted to find that SAF has managed somehow to simplify this process.”

Rod Crittenden also was impressed by what he saw during CAD. “It looks chock full of good pertinent information... nice to have everything consolidated into one easy to use section on the SAF website,” said the executive director of the Michigan Floral Association.

Determining whether you are a “large” or “small” employer — as ACA defines it — is the starting point from which to identify your business’ specific obligations under the new law. “Being a large or small employer for the purposes of the ACA is not subjective. You need to do the math to fully understand what your requirements will be under the law in order to make informed decisions,” said SAF’s Corey Connors, senior director of government relations. A Business Size Calculator is included in the Resource Center’s Planning Tool.

“I love the way you can move from answering a question by checking a "YES" or “NO” link, which moves you to the correct next step in the process,” Lyons said.

David Mitchell of Flowers By George in Orland Park, Ill., tried it out on his iPad. "I was very impressed with how easy the resource was to navigate. You allowed us to make simple decisions that moved me through the pages in a logical, smooth way," said Mitchell. "I was amazed at how quickly I was able to determine my responsibilities and learn about how I was going to be affected by the new law."

The site explains specific requirements — and penalties for non-compliance — for companies defined under ACA rules as small or large employers, the self-employed, and guidelines for employees as they consider their health care choices. A glossary of terms and an implementation timeline are also part of the resource center.

“We’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible. Our Health Care Resource Center demystifies the ACA and breaks it into plain English and facts,” Connors said. If members don’t find information they need, there’s a form to submit questions.

Bob Aykens, AAF, of Memorial Florists and Greenhouses wants everyone on his team in Appleton, Wis., to check out the Resource Center. “I think it’s a common sense approach to understanding health care reform that I can share with my staff so we both understand how it will affect us going forward,” he said. Aykens also offered kudos to SAF staff for “a wonderful job putting this great resource together. Proof why my SAF membership is so valuable!”

“SAF is on the leading edge with this,” agreed Shirley Lyons. “It’s a wonderful tool that would be useful to any business owner.”

Visit the Health Care Resource Center at safnow.org/health-care-resource-center; for more information please contact Corey Connors at cconnors@safnow.org or 800-336-4743.