Small employer – will non-ACA/MEC plan be considered ESI?

Small S-Corp with only a few employees. Owner wants to offer health insurance now so he can have coverage through the company and is giving us the option. I asked for a summary of benefits and only got a limited 2 page flyer that says these plans are exempt from ACA and do not meet MEC requirements. It’s USHealth Group SecureAdvantage and the wellness plan benefits kick in after 30 days. It says “Specified Disease/Accident Plan” and the Wellness Plan says “Fixed Indemnity Outpatient Health & Wellness Plan”

Employer offering $500 a month for premiums and we can pay the rest pretax (he currently does $500 a month on payroll as a bonus to offset our extra costs not having an employer plan, but we pay all taxes on that). Because they won’t cover pre-existing conditions, my diabetic son will not be allowed on the plan and we still have to use marketplace for him.

Would this count as employer sponsored insurance (ESI)?

The agent says it is a group plan. There’s no open enrollment period and premiums are based on individual health histories. She’s very dodgy about giving me information and so far it seems pretty scammy. We are probably not going to do it, but my husband is self-employed – if it counts as ESI then we have a bigger hit come tax time so I need to know to truly compare all of our options.

submitted by /u/fallgirl81
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