Updated Nov. 27, 2013 1:50 p.m. ET
The Obama administration has shelved plans for small businesses to sign up for insurance policies using the troubled HealthCare.gov website and will instead encourage companies to sign up through an insurer, agent or broker, officials said Wednesday.
It was the latest delay involving the law and reflected the administration's priority on getting the website to work for individual customers, even at the expense of other goals such as smoothing the way for small businesses.
HealthCare.gov, which serves people in 36 states, was originally designed to offer health-insurance coverage both for individuals and small businesses. Both may qualify for tax credits under the 2010 federal health law, with businesses getting help depending on their size and employees' income level.
The Obama administration said small employers can still get the credits if they buy a qualifying plan through a broker or agent. The employers would have to send an application requesting the credits.
Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration had decided that many small businesses were already served by agents and brokers and would be able to fall back on that option now.
Small employers will have a new tool to browse plan options on HealthCare.gov starting Dec. 1, but they won't be able to buy plans until November 2014, officials said. At that point, employers will be able to select multiple plans online and give employees the option of choosing among them, the officials said.
Ms. Bataille and other officials at the agencies charged with implementing the law have said the portion of HealthCare.gov that serves individuals has been improving in recent weeks after failures and breakdowns accompanying the Oct. 1 launch. On Wednesday, Ms. Bataille said the administration was on track to have the site working for the "vast majority of users" by its self-imposed end-of-November deadline, but she warned "we have a lot left to do still over the next few days."
News of the small-business delay was quickly criticized by House Small Business Committee chairman Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican. "If small firms failed to provide services this frequently, they would be fired," he said.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, which represents agents, welcomed the announcement.
"As the implementation of the health-care law remains in flux, advisers are more important than ever and stand ready to help consumers understand and adjust to the changes," said the group's president, John Nichols.
Most Americans must carry health insurance or pay a penalty under the Affordable Care Act, but the law exempts businesses with fewer than 50 employees from penalties for not offering health coverage. Larger employers do face a penalty, which is set to go into effect in 2015 after a one-year delay announced by the administration in July.
Some lawmakers have called for delaying the penalty for individuals, saying it's unfair to make uninsured people buy coverage when the federal website isn't working well. That has placed additional pressure on the Obama administration to get the website working quickly. The administration has already taken one step to assuage concerns, clarifying its rules to say that anyone who buys qualifying coverage by March 31, 2014, doesn't have to pay the penalty.
Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com
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