H&W: Expansion of Small Group Definition Thwarted!

On October 7, 2015, President Obama signed the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act (“PACE”) which preserves the definition of small employer to mean an employer that employs 1-50 employees.  Prior to this newly signed legislation, the Affordable Care Act was set to expand the definition of a ‘small employer’ to include companies with 51 to 100 employees which would have subjected them to community rating insurance standards beginning January 1 of 2016.

Although this bill preserves the traditional definition of small employer, it does allow states to expand the definition to include organizations with 51 to 100 employees if so desired.