Earlier this month, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect, requiring nearly all Americans to have minimum health-insurance coverage. Employers were required to give all their employees a notice of coverage options by Oct. 1, which also is the date when the individual and small-business health insurance exchanges opened for enrollment. That is when people can begin using the exchanges to purchase health insurance if they are not already covered by a qualified plan under the law.
Coverage will begin Jan. 1, 2014.Individuals not meeting the requirements of the law by Jan. 1 will be subject to penalties, though the employer penalties have been delayed until Jan. 1, 2015. After that date, large businesses, those with 50 or more employees, must offer minimum essential coverage to those employees and their dependents or pay a penalty.