The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) online portal has been suspended by Covered California in response to requests for system enhancements and modifications.
Peter Lee, Covered California’s executive director, explained that SHOP portal requires improvements as it is not meeting the needs of agents or small employers. “Taking the portal offline will not affect the paper application process, which has been the preferred enrollment method traditionally used by insurance agents in the small-group market,” said Lee.
The online portal for SHOP enrollment went offline on February 12 and is not projected to be back online until the fall of 2014. Small-businesses looking to enroll in SHOP will need to do so by calling the SHOP Service Center or working with a certified insurance agent, said Covered California.
SHOP is separate from the individual health insurance exchange and was specifically created to help small businesses (fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees) facilitate enrollment of their employees in qualified health plans offered through Covered California. While small businesses are not required to offer health insurance to employees, the state has made tax credits available to certain qualified employers who elect to offer coverage; those with no more than 25 full-time equivalent employees for the tax year whose annual average wages do not exceed $50,000 may qualify for a tax credit.
Covered California says the new version of the SHOP online portal should increase efficiency of service and help employers better manage their health insurance applications.
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