On Oct. 1, 2015, the U.S. Senate passed legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that the small group market in every state be expanded to include businesses with 51-100 employees.

The Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier in the week. The President’s signature will be required before the Act is signed into law.

Most states have historically defined “small employers” as those with 50 or fewer employees for purposes of defining their small group health insurance market. Effective for 2016 plan years, the ACA expanded the definition of a “small employer” to include those that employed an average of between one and 100 employees.

If the PACE Act is signed into law, each state will have the option of expanding their small group markets to include businesses with up to 100 employees. Some states have already amended their state laws to adopt the expanded small group market definition. These states would have to take action to undo those changes, if they choose to do so.

NEEBCo will keep employers informed of updates as they occur. For questions regarding employer size, small group definitions and health insurance rating, contact your NEEBCo representative.