The Affordable Care Act brings new laws and regulations for employers of all sizes, regardless of whether or not you will be required to provide health insurance to your employees.
State agencies will soon begin to conduct audits and levy fines on those employers who fail to deliver the Model Exchange Notice to their employees. Employers are required to provide the notice to each employee within 14 days of an employee’s start date and should provide it to all existing employees on an annual basis, regardless of size.
Open enrollment for the Healthcare Marketplace begins in November 2014 and some state agencies are opening sooner; now is the perfect time to notify your employees of the Health Insurance Marketplace.
The Affordable Care Act also means large employers will be required to provide health coverage to their employees. Applicable Large Employers, (ALE’s) will soon be defined as having 50 or more full time or full time equivalent employees (the number goes from 100 to 50 in 2016). ALE’s will be required to provide ACA compliant coverage to 70% of their full time employees or pay penalties. To meet the ACA standards employee shares must not exceed 9.5% of their annual wages.
Beginning in 2016 (for calendar year 2015) ALE’s will be required to file form 1095-C for each full time employee and a transmittal form 1094-C. These are processed similarly to W-2’s. Employers are not required to file these forms in 2014 however now is the time to begin preparation for 2015.
At On Track Business Management we are committed to helping you stay informed. We provide many resources on our website to help you stay compliant. Make sure to read our next blog “The Affordable Care Act Math of Employer Size” to determine whether or not you are considered an Applicable Large Employer.
Download the Model Exchange Notice and other important Affordable Care Act Forms
Resources
United States Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/
Internal Revenue Services Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions