Julia earns $39,000 per year as a department store manager. A mother of two, Julia wants good benefits without too much cost. As of 2014, Julia’s family qualifies for $8,000 in federal support for health insurance. But if her company offers employer-sponsored health coverage, she’ll be disqualified from the $8,000 federal tax credit, and she and her employer will both pay more.

Luckily, Benefitter’s solution and a Benefitter Preferred Broker can help Julia's employer better understand this confusing situation and take action.

Healthcare coverage for Julia’s family costs $10,000—$5,000 for Julia’s premium and $2,500 for each of her two children. In 2014, Julia’s employer could pay 80% of Julia’s premium and 50% of her children’s premiums in a well-intentioned effort to comply with the Affordable Care Act. In this scenario, Julia will pay $3,500 and her employer will pay the remaining $6,500.

However, if her employer does not offer health coverage, Julia could enroll in the public marketplace and qualify for an $8,000+ premium tax credit. In this situation, Julia would pay less than $2,000 for her health insurance and her employer would only pay $2,000 to the federal government as part of their “shared responsibility payment”—resulting in savings for both Julia and her employer, for the same level of coverage.

For employers with midlevel-income employees, current healthcare reform has created counterintuitive opportunities. Benefitter can assess how these opportunities apply to you, introduce you to a Benefitter Preferred Broker, and support you and your employees in making key decisions and if necessary smooth and affordable transitions.