By: Susan VanEpps
This month we talked with Ann Bancroft, owner of Aligner, an Ashburn-based small business providing specialized HR services. As a consultant helping companies incorporate the Affordable Care Act into their planning, Ann offers Loudoun entrepreneurs insight into the benefits of the ACA, and cautions as well. Read her interview here.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the top concern for small businesses every year since 1986 has been access to affordable health care. What are you seeing with Loudoun companies, specifically with regards to the ACA?
“When small companies first hear about the ACA and think they have to offer health coverage, they panic. Then they find out it’s only required for companies with 50 or more full-time employees, and even those companies might not be subject to the mandates, depending on their circumstances.
But healthcare is a big concern and companies have lots of questions. I work with businesses to try and find them affordable healthcare. The cost of providing care continues to rise every year, and some companies have had to stop providing it, which is really very sad. For the most part companies would like to be able to offer it.”
How will the ACA affect this situation?
“One of the good things about the ACA is that because of the state pools of insurance companies that are being assembled, even if a company cannot afford coverage, the employee [alone] will be able to obtain insurance through these government pools. Virginia will be participating in the federal program of offerings.
Also because of the law, small companies are stopping and assessing what they’re doing. For so long companies may have just been going along, not thinking through their business processes. This is time well spent because of the payoffs in the end.”
How about for the solopreneur; the self-employed business operator?
“This will really increase opportunity for people who have wanted to start a business. In the past people with families just couldn’t because of the healthcare needs of their family members. I am hopeful that because of the ACA’s caps on future costs, and its [ban] on exclusions for pre-existing conditions, that it will be affordable. I think it’s still going to expensive, but hopefully affordable.”
When and how does Aligner get involved in assisting companies with these and other issues?
“I find we often get involved too late. Small companies will grow, and suddenly realize they need to write an employee handbook, but by that point they already need a lot more. Or I’ll get a panicked call because of an employee-company issue and they don’t have policies in place. I can’t provide legal services, but I can advise and mediate. We also provide training, benefits advising; everything up to complete outsourcing of HR functions so entrepreneurs can focus on what they do best.”
What are your overall recommendations for the upcoming ACA changes to the workplace?
“Don’t wait to get help. The rules and regulations of the ACA, and HR in general, are each a job in itself. We try to take that burden off. Realize that help is not a cost to your business; it’s a savings for you. Call someone; don’t try to figure it out yourself.”
Additional details on the ACA as it relates to small business, including tax credits for companies with less than 25 employees, are available online from the Small Business Administration.
