Success: Sole Source Finalized

By: Ann Sullivan

When you’ve been working on a program for 15 years, it’s almost anti-climatic when you realize you won and it’s over.  I suppose lawyers feel this way when they win a big case, or business owners when they close a major contract.

For me, the SBA announcement integrating a sole source component into the WOSB procurement program on October 14, 2015 marks the end of a long campaign by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).  First, we fought for eleven years to establish a program that gives a government buying preference to women-owned companies whose industries have been underrepresented.  Not an easy fight – we had plenty of Congressional and White House opponents—it wasn’t until the Obama Administration came into power that the program was established.  At the time, SBA Administrator Karen Mills made it her number one priority, which we will always be thankful for.  We had strong Congressional proponents – Senators Cantwell and Shaheen and Representatives Speier and Graves.

Then, we had to make the program work.  That required two major changes to the program in 2013 and 2014.  The first change required lifting the award caps the law imposed on the program.  The WOSB procurement program limited contract awards through the program to $4 million ($6.5 million for manufacturing).  In 2013, Congress helped us get rid of those caps. The last big piece was the sole source piece—allowing contracting officers to award sole source contracts to women-owned companies through the program.  This major change gives the program parity with other small business programs and again, required Congressional action.  Effective October 14, agencies will be able to use this mechanism to award contracts to women whose companies offer innovative products and services.

As with all government programs, the rules are a little complicated and the ability to self-certify as a woman owned business will eventually have to change, due to Congressional direction in 2014.  But for now, self-certification remains the law and women should be actively pursuing contracts through the WOSB procurement program whether or not they are self-certified or certified by a third party.

It is important to note that not all industries (NAICS codes) qualify for the program.  You can find a list at http://www.SBA.gov/WOSB.  We have developed a one pager that go through the rules of the sole source portion of the program and our GiveMe5 program has comprehensive information on the WOSB program.  In addition, our ChallengeHER events are all over the country so that women can find out more about the program.  The information can all be found at www.wipp.org.

The WOSB procurement program is in good hands.  All the major pieces to make it successful are in place.  When we started this effort in 2002, women received 2.7% of government contracts. Since the program has been in place, more than $500 million has been set-aside for women- owned companies.  In fact, in 2014 the government awarded 4.7% of its contracts to WOSBs –a 75% increase since 2002.  Now women business owners need to know how to use it with the help of SBA, the federal contracting community and organizations, such as WIPP.  

Fifteen years seems like a long time, but when you are fighting for something—somehow it doesn’t seem that long.  WIPP members and coalition partners were with us every step of the way.  For this, I am exceedingly grateful. 

Time To Sign Up for 2016 Health Insurance

By: John Stanford, AEO Government Relations

Beginning November 1^st 2016, the enrollment period to sign up for health insurance is open for both individuals and small businesses. In anticipation of the sign up period, AEO’s policy team has prepared this FAQ to help ensure you know what you need to know. 

What is an enrollment period?

For most individuals and businesses, health insurance can only be selected during an annual enrollment period. Lasting three months, this is a time for consumers to shop between plans and select coverage for the following year. Missing the enrollment period will mean you cannot select insurance for 2016, which comes with a hefty penalty (see below).

Throughout the year, special events like starting a business, losing/getting a job, getting married or having/adopting children, allow for special enrollment periods to select new plans.  

What are the key dates for 2016 Open Enrollment?

Here is a timeline for this year’s enrollment period (note the December 15^th deadline!):

• November 1 – enrollment begins: you can shop plans via www.healthcare.gov (you may be directed to your states marketplace)

• December 15 — Last day to enroll for January 1, 2016 coverage: This is important because if you do not have coverage of some kind on January 1, you may face a penalty

• January 31 — Individual enrollment period closes

• April 2016 – Penalties for not having health insurance in 2015 due ($395 or 2% of your income, whichever is higher)

• Throughout 2016: Small businesses may sign up for insurance through small business (SHOP) marketplaces

What are the penalties for not having health insurance insurance? When would I pay them?

There are two sets of penalties relating to health insurance. Penalties faced by all of us as individuals, and penalties employers may face.

In 2016, the penalty for not having individual insurance is $695 or 2.5% of your income – whichever is higher. This is an increase from 2015.

For employers, there are two types of penalties, but only if you have 50+ employees. Again, there are no penalties for businesses with less than 50 employees for not offering health insurance. For more than 50 employee-sized companies, penalties will be assessed for not offering coverage or offering coverage that is deemed unaffordable. More on employer penalties is available here.

Penalties are paid on tax returns the following year – failure to get coverage in 2016 would be paid in April 2017.

Are more people really signing up for insurance?

AEO was recently at the White House to discuss the upcoming enrollment period. At the meeting, the Administration shared the latest numbers on the impact of the Affordable Care Act up until now:

• Since 2013, 17.6 million Americans have gained insurance, reducing the uninsured rate by 39%
• 29 states (including DC) have expanded Medicaid

Enrollees, however, will now be tougher to find and engage. Of the remaining uninsured, 50% are between 18-34 years of age and 40% fall between 139-250% of the poverty level (up to roughly $60,000 a year for a family of 4).

Does that mean healthcare costs are going down? It certainly does not feel that way.

Healthcare costs are going up. In the years leading up to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare spending (not premiums specifically, but all health dollars) was increasing by 10-20% each year. This was a byproduct of the high cost of the uninsured, an aging population, and system inefficiencies. It was generally agreed by economists that reform was necessary to address overall healthcare costs.

The ACA sought to solve this by expanding the insured market. The theory was that the high cost of the uninsured would be reined in because insurers generally achieve better pricing for services and prescription medicines.

Among other things, the ACA eliminated insurers’ ability to charge differently for pre-existing conditions and removed lifetime caps on coverage. It also had two mandates to achieve increased coverage: individual – requiring everyone have insurance of some kind; and employer — requiring larger employers (more than 50 employees) offer insurance of some kind to their employees. Both mandates have penalties for failure to comply (see above).

But Premiums Keep Going Up. Why is that?

Now, we have an insured pool that is sicker and costlier than before. This drives the average cost of insurance, and by extension, premiums up. Health insurers are still unsure just how sick these people are and what it will cost. So we can expect to see major fluctuations as insurers get more data on the pools they are covering.

For small businesses shopping in the small business marketplace, the pool remains one of the smallest segments of the health insurance market. This means that prices for America’s entrepreneurs are the most likely to face sharp increases.