The Basics of Obamacare

For nearly three years, Willan Johnson has been trying to figure out the best way to provide health insurance to his 72 employees. He has been delayed by confusion and uncertainty.

When he founded Los Angeles-based pool maintenance company VivoPools in 2009, Johnson's goal was to create a national brand with high service standards to compete in a fragmented industry of mom-and-pop providers. Part of his strategy was to provide health insurance and other benefits to attract and retain good workers. But when he studied his options, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA)--also known as Obamacare--had just been passed. That changed his plans.

"I called a number of different health-insurance consultants and said, 'OK: What do we do about this?' And, by and large, everyone said, 'Don't do anything yet,'" he recalls. The advisors were concerned that he would launch a program that wouldn't be in compliance with the complex new legislation.

But Johnson is going to have to make