Companies Wary of Affordable Care Act Plans for Small Businesses

Small businesses who offer insurance appear to be sticking with what they have rather than venture out into the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 

“There’s just tremendous insecurity as to how those programs will work," said Nancy Fennelly, who along with her husband, runs NAI Fennelly, a corporate real estate company in Princeton, N.J. 

The Fennellys' health insurance plan just went up 29 percent this year. While they are concerned, they're considering sticking with the higher plans instead of considering the Small Business Health Options Program — or SHOP — a set of plans offered to small businesses under the Affordable Care Act. 

“We’re sort of in a state of flux right now where we just are probably going to be sitting the next 12 months waiting to see which way this all washes out," she said. 

Over in Trenton, at the Home Rubber Company, owner Rich Balka is considering the SHOP but is leaning towards his current plan for his 40 employees, despite being a "huge fan of the Affordable Care Act from the beginning."

"I don’t think anybody really knows yet how this is going to shake out," he said.

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