New poll shows tax credits, insurance exchanges in year-old Affordable Care Act attractive to California employers not currently offering health benefits, however most small firms don't know the provisions exist

More workers employed by California small businesses would have health insurance if their employers knew about key provisions in the national healthcare law, according to a new poll by Pacific Community Ventures.

One year after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 43 percent of small businesses not offering insurance said they would be more likely to do so once they learned about small business healthcare tax credits, a key provision in the law, according to the survey of 804 California small employers with fewer than 20 workers. However, 48 percent of small employers in the state are unaware of provisions in the law that benefit small businesses, the survey found.

Specifically, the poll found that 57 percent of small businesses are unfamiliar with the small business tax credits they can claim this year to offset healthcare costs, and 62 percent have not heard of health insurance exchanges, which the state is establishing to drive down insurance costs.  When provided with basic information about the exchanges, 55 percent said they would be likely to participate, and 32 percent of businesses not providing coverage said they would be more likely to offer it because of the exchanges.
"This survey shows the tremendous opportunity to further inform small business owners about the healthcare act's core benefits available to help them offer insurance," noted Beth Sirull, Executive Director of Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization committed to creating jobs in low-income communities. "Armed with this information, small businesses will play a vital role in covering great numbers of uninsured workers to buoy our economy with a healthy, productive workforce."

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law March 23, 2010 and included two key provisions critical for small business. The small business tax credits allow businesses with fewer than 25 employees that have average annual wages under $50,000 to get a tax credit of up to 35 percent of their health insurance costs beginning in tax year 2010. Insurance exchanges, which go into effect in 2014, are online marketplaces where small businesses and individuals can band together to purchase insurance.

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