Should all employees pay the same amount for health insurance?
James Williams
Published Apr 13, 2026
There are no federal laws requiring plans to provide the same benefit coverage to all employees. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires employers with 50 or more employees to either offer employees health care coverage or pay a fee, but the law does not apply to part-time workers.
Do full time employees have to get benefits?
According to the Department of Labor, companies are not required to give full-time employees benefits. Employers offer fringe benefits voluntarily. However, employers cannot be discriminatory in who receives benefits and who does not.
How does the Affordable Care Act define full time employees?
The Affordable Care Act defines full-time employees as those working an average of 30 hours a week, for the purposes of defining employer required payments for larger employers. 2 The IRS looks to the Affordable Care Act provisions and the responsibility of larger employers (ALE) to make payments if they don’t offer health coverage.
How long does a company have to offer extended medical benefits?
The federal government requires that companies with 20 or more employees continue to provide extended medical benefits to former employees (and their families) for up to 18 months (sometimes longer). States may have additional requirements for extended medical benefits.
How are part time employees counted as full time employees?
The Affordable Care Act requires employers to do a calculation for full-time equivalents, for counting purposes. This process uses the definition of 30 hours a week as full-time and it takes part-time employees and calculates the percentage each part-timer works as compared to a full-time employee.
What kind of benefits do I get as a full time employee?
For smaller employers, who gets benefits is left solely up to the employer’s discretion. Employers are not required to offer benefits even to classified full-time employees. Benefits may include dental, medical, disability, life insurance, and the like.
