What is Covering New Hampshire?

A statewide effort by the New Hampshire Health Plan, Covering New Hampshire is the official, free resource for Granite Staters to learn about the Health Insurance Marketplace and the new, affordable health insurance plans that are now available to you. 

We’re here to make the process of getting insurance through the Marketplace as easy as possible by:

1. Helping you understand the new health care law and how it affects you.
2. Providing you details about the new health insurance plans that are available to Granite Staters through the Marketplace.
3. Informing you about the financial assistance that is available to make health insurance affordable.
4. Connecting you with the Health Insurance Marketplace online or by phone.
5. Connecting you with in-person assisters around New Hampshire who will help you through the enrollment process step-by-step.
6. Connecting you with other New Hampshire organizations that are here to help you get covered.

How does the new health care law affect small employers?

• Starting in 2015, employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees for any 120 days or more during the calendar year may be subject to a penalty if they do not provide qualified health coverage.
• Small businesses—those with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees—are not required to provide health coverage to employees, even in 2015.
• If you do not provide coverage to your employees, they will be responsible for purchasing their own health insurance in 2014.
• Most employers must provide each employee with a notice of coverage options, while also informing them that they can pursue new coverage options through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
• If your business has fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees, your business may be eligible for new tax credits for providing your employees coverage, and your business may be eligible to obtain coverage for employees through the new Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).

What does the law require me to do now?

If you haven’t already done so, the new law requires you to provide all of your employees—part-time or full-time—with the following written information:

• About the Health Insurance Marketplace.
• That, depending on any coverage you offer, they may be able to get lower costs on private insurance in the Marketplace based on their income.
• That if they buy insurance through the Marketplace, they may lose the employer contribution (if any) to their health benefits.