Q: Do I have to offer health insurance? 

A: If your business has 50 or more full-time employees (or the same number of hours worked by part-time staff), the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires you to offer health insurance to at least 95% of your full-time staff. If you don’t, you may have to pay a penalty to the IRS.  

However, if you have fewer than 50 full-time employees, offering health insurance is usually voluntary and can be entirely up to you. In most cases, you're not legally required to provide health or wellness benefits. 

Still, offering health coverage can be a smart move. It can help your business in more ways than one. For example, it can help you: 

• Attract and keep good workers 

• Build employee loyalty 

• Cut down on staff turnover 

• Compete with bigger companies 

• Deal with fewer employee sick leaves 

Offering coverage shows your employees you’ve invested in their well-being — which can go a long way.