Your employer is not required to offer health benefits. However, employers with 50 or more full time employees that don’t offer health benefits to their full-time employees and dependent children may be liable for a tax penalty. However, employers will not face a tax penalty for not offering coverage to the spouses of employees.
If your employer doesn’t offer health benefits, you can apply for coverage in the Marketplace and you may be eligible for financial assistance. Subsidies are calculated based on the price of available plans and household income; lower income individuals are eligible for greater subsidy amounts. (26 U.S.C. § 4980H; 26 U.S.C. § 36B).