Employers are not required to offer coverage at all. However, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), there may be penalties if coverage is not offered. If an employer chooses to offer coverage, it would only need to offer coverage to all full-time employees (those working 30 or more hours per week) and their dependents. A part-time employee is counted as ½ a full-time employee to determine if an employer has 50 full-time equivalent employees, but the tax penalties for not providing coverage (calculated per full-time employee) do not apply to part-time employees.