Does My Small Business Have To Provide Health Insurance? 
You may be thinking of the Obamacare requirement that mandates employers provide health insurance for their employees or pay a penalty tax . The employer mandate does not apply to businesses with fewer than 50 full time employees . A full time employee means non-seasonal , W2 classification . Businesses that use seasonal or 1099 employees are exempt as long as their full time employee count is below 50 . 