Niki, a staff member with the Massachusetts Health Connector, led a virtual information session for childcare providers explaining how individuals and small employers can buy health and dental coverage through the Connector, how employer-sponsored groups are structured, and what tax credits or rebates may be available.

The session addressed why the information matters for small child-care businesses: many family and small-center providers operate with only a handful of employees and can potentially reduce employer and employee premiums through group purchases, federal tax credits, and state programs such as ConnectorCare.

Presenters described the two main pathways they discussed: individual and family enrollment through the Connector’s individual marketplace, and employer-sponsored plans for small businesses. For employers, the presenters said the Connector’s small-group offering is intended for firms registered in Massachusetts with between 1 and 50 full-time-equivalent employees. They said employers must be registered in Massachusetts to use the small-group marketplace, and that, as employers set up quotes, they should expect to select a purchase date (the presenters used the 10th of a month as an example deadline for placing an order) and then give employees a set decision period (about 10 days, per the presentation). Presenters also said employers commonly must make the first online premium payment by the 23rd of the billing month.

The presenters explained common plan choices (HSA-qualified plans, bronze/silver/gold tiers and PPO options) and noted that plan design affects premiums and whether employee dependents are covered. They showed a quick-quote online tool the Connector provides that requires no user account to generate draft quotes; employers can also upload an employee roster spreadsheet to populate the tool instead of entering each employee individually. The session included two illustrative scenarios: a family child-care provider with a small staff and a small center manager preparing to retire and recruit new staff. The presenters used those examples to show how different staff ages, dependent counts and pay levels affect plan options and estimated costs.

On incentives and tax relief, the presenters described federal small-business health care tax credits and state rebate programs. They said eligible employers may qualify for a federal small-employer tax credit that “may cover a substantial share” of premiums in some cases, but the exact credit percentage varies with a business’s circumstances; presenters advised consulting a tax professional for firm-specific calculations. Presenters also described ConnectorCare and other state-subsidized programs for lower-income residents and said low-income individuals remain eligible for separate assistance administered through the Connector and MassHealth.

Presenters listed documentation and eligibility items employers and individuals should gather when applying: business registration in Massachusetts, Social Security numbers and identity or immigration documentation for non-U.S. citizens, recent pay stubs or proof of self-employment income when income has changed since the prior tax year, and employee birthdates and dependent information required to generate quotes. They reiterated that eligible employers generally must contribute toward employee coverage (the presentation used 50% as a typical employer-share example) and explained that some group-eligibility rules (for example a threshold for the proportion of employees participating) apply when forming a group plan.

The presenters emphasized free help is available: the Connector operates a customer-service hotline and the state has certified navigators and local, in-person assisters. They said the Connector has hundreds of certified navigators across Massachusetts who can help with applications and that employers should contact customer service or a local navigator to schedule one-on-one assistance.

The session closed with presenters encouraging providers to start the comparison process well in advance of a planned plan start date. For individuals, presenters noted the current individual open-enrollment deadline referenced during the session was Nov. 1 and that some payment and enrollment steps for employer plans are tied to monthly order and payment windows; presenters recommended employers begin two months before the intended coverage start date to allow time for quotes, employee decisions and payment processing.

The presentation was informational; no formal policy actions or votes were taken during the session.