The Affordable Care Act provides a temporary tax credit for small employers – defined as having 25 full-time workers or the equivalent – with average wages less than $50,000. But not many know about it, or that they may be eligible, according to the survey. The White House has estimated that up to 4 million small businesses may be eligible for credits, which are meant to defray part of the insurance costs
This Kaiser Family Foundation report on employer health benefits found that 29 percent of firms with fewer than 50 employees that offer health coverage tried to find out if they were eligible, and 65 percent did not. Of small businesses that did not offer insurance, half said they were aware of the tax credit and 48 percent said they did not know about it. Of those that were aware, only 13 percent said the availability of a credit had not led them to consider whether to start offering insurance to their workers. Read more: Do small businesses in your area know about tax credit for offering coverage?