Obamacare Clock Stops for Your Boss, Not You

Large employers that don't offer health care coverage next year won't face fines under Obamacare. You, however, are not so lucky.

In July the administration unexpectedly delayed the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate until 2015, citing businesses' difficulty meeting the original January 2014 deadline.

That's big news for people working less than the traditional 40 hours at companies with 50 or more employees. About one-third of those firms today don't insure workers putting in as little as 30 hours a week, reports Mercer; the ACA would have made them provide insurance to those people or pay a penalty.

The timetable hasn't slowed for you, though.

In late July, the rule that most people buy insurance or pay a fine (1% of income for high earners in 2014) was still set to kick in come January.

Should you need a health plan, you can shop for one starting in October through exchanges created under the ACA; find the exchange for your state at healthcare.gov.