Health insurance is never a simple matter, but it becomes even more fuzzy when it comes to part time employees. If you’ve ever wondered, “can a part time employee get health insurance?” then you’re not alone. This is an important question that we’ll explore in depth below, so that you know exactly what you need to do if you’re thinking about offering health insurance for part time employees.
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The short answer is yes. The long answer is more complicated. While employers are not required to provide health insurance for part time employees, they do have the option to and it can be a great way to retain employees. After all, many businesses rely on having a mix of full-time and part-time employees, and for many industries hiring has been a struggle lately.
Part time employment is defined by the Affordable Care Act as working an average of less than 30 hours per week or less than 130 hours per month for 120 days or more in a row. You absolutely can offer these types of employees health insurance if you choose to, but it does introduce a few more things to think about, which we’ll dive into below.
The ACA is in place to protect employees, and there are a few regulations you’ll need to adhere to in order to offer health insurance for part time employees. These include:
By making sure you’ve covered these bases, you’ll be able to offer health insurance to part time employees without breaking any ACA or insurance regulations in the process.
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It’s not required to offer health insurance to part time employees and the decision rests completely in your hands as the employer. Many employers choose not to simply because of the increased cost it entails.
However, health insurance is becoming more and more important to employees and offering it to part timers is a great way to attract and retain good employees. This can save you costs elsewhere, such as recruiting and training new employees regularly.
Health insurance also leads to healthier employees, which means less time off work sick and better performing employees.
Another great benefit of offering health insurance to part time employees is that everything you spend on health insurance premiums are tax deductible for both federal and state taxes. You may also even be eligible for further tax credits if you’re a small business.
While health insurance for part time employees is not mandatory, there are a lot of benefits to offering it — both for your business and your employees. However, you’ll want to make sure it’s something your business can actually afford and follow the regulations for or else you could jeopardize the existing health insurance for your employees as well as the health of your business.
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Lauren Lewthwaite Lauren Lewthwaite has been freelance writing for almost five years writing content that ranges from health to insurance and everything in between. Lauren is also a trained translator in French and English and is a dog-mom to an adorable Australian Shepherd.
