Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Safe Harbor Rules Issued for Non-Elective Contributions

The Internal Revenue Service has issued its final safe harbor rules for employers facing business hardships.

The agency ruled that companies that operate at a loss can eliminate or reduce non-elective contributions made to Safe Harbor 401(k) plans midyear.

The Safe Harbor 401(k) has been popular among small business owners because it allows them and their highly-compensated employees to make the maximum contribution either tax-deferred or after tax to their Roth 401(k) regardless of income. In exchange for modest contributions to other plan participants on a matching basis, the plan doesn’t have to go through strenuous nondiscrimination testing requirements that apply to standard 401(k) plans.

Prior to this rulemaking, employers had to have a business hardship to suspend or reduce their non-elective contributions to these plans. Now, employers can reduce or suspend their non-elective contributions no matter what their financial condition as long as they let participants know before the beginning of the plan year that their contributions could be reduced or suspended midyear, and give them 30 days’ notice before the suspension or reduction actually takes place.

According to the IRS in its final rules, which were released Nov. 14, the same rules now apply to both safe harbor non-elective contributions and safe harbor matching contributions.
This is a change from previous rules on matching contributions so the changes don’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2015.

View the article HERE

Monday, December 2, 2013

Myth vs. Fact

America’s Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act:
Myth vs. Fact

Myth: All employers are required to buy health insurance for their employees under the Affordable Care Act.
 Fact: The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses to provide health insurance to their employees.

-Starting in 2015, businesses with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees that do not provide coverage to their full-time employees may be subject to an Employer Shared Responsibility payment.
 -However, 96 percent of America’s businesses are too small to be subject to these rules.

Myth: Since my state hasn’t set up its own health exchange, the Affordable Care Act doesn’t apply to me.
 Fact: Every state will have an affordable insurance Marketplace (commonly known as an Exchange) for self-employed individuals and small businesses, opening for enrollment on October 1, 2013.

-Depending on where you live, the Marketplace will be operated by either your state or the federal government, or through a partnership with the state and the federal government.

-Regardless of location, insurance plans in the Marketplace are offered by private companies, and all plans offered will cover the same core set of benefits called Essential Health Benefits. No plan can turn you away or charge you more because you or your employees have an illness or medical condition.

-For more information about the Marketplace for small employers, known as the Small Business Health Care Option Program (SHOP), call 1-800-706-7893 (TTY users: 1-800-706-7915), Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

Read more HERE

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

ACA mandates delayed, but reporting requirements are crucial

By Diane A. Thompson and Sharon M. Marshall
November 8, 2013
 
The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations on reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act. The regulations, released on Sept. 9, address two separate ACA reporting requirements: one relating to the individual mandate and the other relating to the employer mandate. Failure to comply could result in tax penalties unless the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

Each of these requirements has been delayed one year. The government is encouraging voluntary compliance for reports due in 2015 (for the 2014 calendar year), but the first mandatory reports are not due until 2016 (for the 2015 calendar year).

The regulations under section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code impose new reporting requirements on health insurers, sponsors of self-funded group health plans, and others who provide individuals with minimum essential health coverage. These health benefit providers must furnish a report to the IRS and a statement to enrollees containing specific information to be used in the administration of the individual mandate. Although the report and statement are due annually (on the same schedule that applies to Form W-2), they must set forth information on a month-by-month basis.

The regulations under section 6056 require large employers (more than 50 full-time employees or full-time equivalents) to furnish a report to the IRS and a statement to all full-time employees containing information about the employer-provided coverage that is offered, regardless of whether the employee enrolls. This information will be used in the administration of the employer mandate. As under section 6055, the report and statement are due annually (on the same schedule as Form W-2), but present information on a monthly basis. The report also provides the IRS and individuals with information necessary to administer the premium tax credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code.

The two new reporting requirements are in addition to the current requirement to report the cost of coverage on Form W-2. Many are hoping that some or all of these reporting requirements will be combined and simplified. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS have not yet found an approach to reconcile the differences among the requirements, but they continue to consider a combined approach, pending the issuance of regulations.

View the article HERE

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

White House pushes PPACA security

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is planning a high-level effort to reassure Americans about the privacy and security of the information submitted under the new health care law, hoping to blunt complaints from Republican opponents that enough isn't being done to protect consumer data.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Edith Ramirez and other federal and state officials are set to meet Wednesday at the White House to discuss security measures designed to keep scammers and identity thieves from taking advantage of what could be millions of Americans attempting to enroll for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act starting in October.

The law's Republican opponents, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott, have recently warned of lax security in relaying personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates and income statements, as people sign up under what many call "Obamacare."

Attorneys general in 13 states sent a letter to Sebelius last month questioning whether there will be enough protection of consumer data in the program, and Republicans from around the country have questioned the system's security and privacy safeguards.

The White House meeting, which will be followed by events later in the week at the Justice Department and at the Federal Trade Commission, is designed to reassure Americans that their personal information will be safe and to publicize ways to report criminal activity.
White House officials plan to unveil a toll-free telephone number (800-318-2596, TTY 855-889-4325) that will connect consumers to a federal call center for reporting fraud or attempted identity theft under the new health care law. They also plan to promote several other initiatives, including a new computer system that will verify Americans' identities to prevent taxpayer-funded subsidies from going to criminals.

Continue Reading HERE

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Myth vs. Fact #3

Myth vs. Fact: Myth #3: Business Owners Will Be Fined If They Don’t Notify Their Employees About the New Health Insurance Marketplace

As a business owner, it's important to understand how the Affordable Care Act may affect your business. However, with so many misconceptions about how the Affordable Care Act works, this can be difficult.

As part of our ongoing blog series, "Myth vs. Fact: The Affordable Care Act and Small Business," this week we're debunking another common myth: Business owners will be fined if they don't provide notification to their employees about the new Health Insurance Marketplace.

Fact: If your company is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, you must provide a written notice to your employees about the Health Insurance Marketplace by October 1, 2013. However, there is no fine or penalty under the law for failing to provide the notice.

Which Employers Must Provide This Notification?


Under the Affordable Care Act, all employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (generally, those firms that have at least one employee and at least $500,000 in annual dollar volume of business), must notify their employees about the new Health Insurance Marketplace, whether or not the employer currently provides health coverage to its employees.

The Marketplace opens for enrollment in all states on October 1, 2013 and offers individuals and small business owners an online portal to find and compare private health insurance options.

Click HERE to read more.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Boiling Down the ACA

By Linda Rowings
October 25, 2013
 
A lot of employers and advisers might want a simple, at-a-glance way to see all the Affordable Care Act requirements that apply to their business(es). This is no easy task given group size, SHOP exchanges and self-funding variables. Let’s take a look at a few provisions that are effective for the plan year beginning on or after January 1.
 
Here’s what (non-grandfathered) large group insured plans (more than 50 employees) should be focused on:
  • Eligibility waiting period maximum of 90 days
  • Pre-ex not permitted on anyone
  • Annual dollar limits prohibited on essential health benefits
  • Protections for those in clinical trials
  • Out of pocket may not exceed $6,350/$12,700
  • Guarantee issue and renewal apply
  • Revised wellness program rules

If you have a (non-grandfathered) small group (50 or fewer employees) insured plan, keep a watch on the following requirements that apply BOTH inside and outside the SHOP exchange:
  • Modified community rating applies
  • Essential health benefits (EHBs) must be offered
  • Deductible generally may not exceed $2,000/$4,000
  • Out of pocket may not exceed $6,350/$12,700
  • Must meet metal levels (60%, 70%, 80%, 90%)
  • Guarantee issue and renewal apply (subject to participation)
  • Single risk pool
  • Revised wellness program rules
  • Eligibility waiting period maximum of 90 days
  • Pre-ex not permitted on anyone
  • Annual dollar limits prohibited on essential health benefits
  • Protections for those in clinical trials
If you are a small OR large self-funded plan, the following requirements should be on your radar:
  • Eligibility waiting period maximum of 90 days
  • Pre-ex not permitted on anyone
  • Annual dollar limits prohibited on essential health benefits
  • Protections for those in clinical trials
  • Out of pocket may not exceed $6,350/$12,700
  • Revised wellness program rules
  • Transitional reinsurance fee, including reporting
See the full article here

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Myth vs. Fact #2

Myth vs. Fact: Myth #2: My State Isn’t Setting Up a Marketplace So The Affordable Care Act Doesn’t Affect Me


As a business owner, it’s important to understand how the Affordable Care Act may affect your business. However, with so many misconceptions about how the Affordable Care Act works, this can be difficult.

As part of our ongoing blog series, “Myth vs. Fact: The Affordable Care Act and Small Business,” this week we’re debunking another common myth: If my business is located in a state that isn’t establishing a state-based Marketplace, the Affordable Care Act doesn’t have any impact on me.

Fact: Every state will have an Affordable Insurance Exchange, or Marketplace, beginning in January 2014. States have the option of running their own Marketplace, partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to partially run the Marketplace, or opting for a Marketplace run by HHS.

More than half of states have decided to run all or part of their Marketplaces in 2014. Specifically, seventeen states and the District of Columbia have chosen to establish their own Marketplace and, seven additional states have opted to partner with the federal government to establish a Marketplace. States have the opportunity to choose to run more of their Marketplaces in each year following 2014.

Will the insurance options be different in a state-based Marketplace versus a federally-facilitated Marketplace?

We don’t expect there to be a difference since the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), which is part of the new Marketplace, will operate in all states. Small employers in all states will be able to compare a range of insurance options for their employees based on price, benefits, quality, and other criteria that may be important to them. This is true whether a business is exploring options for coverage in a state-based Marketplace or a federally-facilitated Marketplace. Also, every health insurance plan in the new Marketplace will offer coverage of “essential health benefits” like hospitalizations, doctor services, prescription drugs, rehabilitation and mental health services, pregnancy, and newborn care. Some employers may even be eligible for tax credits for their premium contributions.

Continue reading HERE

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Standalone HRAs are out, as expected

Standalone HRAs will soon be a thing of the past. The Employee Benefits Security Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, provided a clarification on health reimbursement accounts late last week, ruling in a statement that HRAs are group health plans and therefore cannot have annual limits. The decision finalizes previous guidance that indicated government agencies would view HRAs in this way in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

“I think people had suspected that standalone HRAs would not be viable after 2014,” says Linda Rowings, chief compliance officer for United Benefit Advisors, a group of independent brokerages throughout the U.S. “I think it’s very clear from this guidance that you can’t do standalone HRAs unless it’s for retirees or as a non-medical sort of benefit like dental or vision.”
The EBSA statement says, “a group health plan (or a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage) may not establish any annual limit on the dollar amount of benefits for any individual.” In other words, because standalone HRAs would inevitably place a dollar amount on benefits, they will be tricky for any broker or plan to execute.

Continue Reading HERE

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Confused by PPACA? Join the club

Benefits Selling’s annual employer survey finds PPACA is still professionals' biggest challenge:
 
October 2, 2013
 
Benefits Selling’s annual employer survey found that many things are business as usual in the benefits world: For one thing, employers continue to try to restrain costs while attracting and retaining employees with the richest possible benefit packages.
 
About 67 percent of employers offer health care benefits. Slightly fewer than half of respondents offer health savings accounts, and just over 68 percent agreed that employees think health insurance is the most important benefit they have.

This year, though, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the big difference. A large majority of respondents — 80 percent — say that health care reform has made them rethink their employee benefit offerings.

Benefits professionals still have a lot of questions about PPACA. Illustration by Sarah Hanson.
(Benefits professionals still have a lot of questions about PPACA. Illustration by Sarah Hanson.)

Rampant confusion
Perhaps the biggest effect of PPACA so far is the confusion it’s created. Many businesses simply don’t understand their choices under the new law.

“I’m very disappointed with the way Obamacare is being handled. People are so confused.” That’s the word from Bruce Axler, principal at Axler Insurance Services in South San Francisco, Calif., where he works with businesses with from two to 25 employees.

“Most of them are wondering what Obamacare is going to do to them,” Axler says. “Some of them need to do nothing; others will need to make changes in order to avoid paying a penalty.”
Businesses of all sizes have upset owners and managers, agrees Ken Neathery, owner of Lone Star Insurance Services in Sherman, Texas. “They don’t understand it, even though they’ve read everything they can get their hands on. The larger the employer, the more questions they have,” he says.

In small groups, Neathery adds, “the questions are ‘What’s going to happen? What’s this tax I’m hearing about? Am I going to have to pay more?’ People know that things are changing this fall and they need to do something by next March, but they don't know anything else. We’re doing our best to tell them that this isn’t a catastrophe.”

Continue Reading HERE

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Most employers say they’re ready for PPACA

Most Employers Say They're Ready for PPACA

More employers than might be thought are well ahead in preparing to meet the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

That’s according to a survey of HR managers conducted with the coming open enrollment season in mind. Wellness program consultant and provider Keas said its survey of more than 100 HR professionals found that three-quarters of them had taken steps to meet the law’s original Jan. 1, 2014 deadline. Another 58 percent were confident they would still be fully compliant with the act by January, despite the Obama administration decision to delay implementation of the employer mandate until January 2015.

Offering a less optimistic view on the question, Aflac on Wednesday released results of a much larger, but professionally broader, study that found that just 9 percent of respondents felt their employers were “very prepared” to meet the law’s requirements. Seven of 10 workers interviewed for the Aflac study said a very basic requirement of the PPACA — that employers communicate benefits package options to workers by Oct. 1 — had yet to happen.

The Keas “HR Executive Survey” identified top open enrollment pain points for HR managers in the reform era included educating employees about available benefits (47 percent) and getting employees to participate in benefits selection (22 percent).

Click Here to continue reading

Monday, September 30, 2013

ObamaCare’s Kickoff on Oct. 1: ‘Much Ado About Nothing?’

No matter what happens Tuesday when the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges go live, experts say it will be too early to call the marketplaces a failure or success.

“October 1 is much ado about nothing,” says Larry Kocot, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Some may not want to write a check [in October] so they may wait. The real crunch time happens toward the end of the enrollment period, prior to benefits starting.”

Tuesday kicks off open enrollment season on the health-insurance marketplaces which runs through March 31, 2014. Uninsured Americans, along with those looking for different coverage options, can start shopping on the state and federally-run exchanges for a policy, but any purchased plans won’t kick in until Jan. 1 - a major reason why enrollment numbers likely won’t be impressive early on in the launch, says Kocot.

He says December will likely be the month to watch regarding health-care enrollment. Under the ACA, every individual in the U.S. has to have insurance by March 31, 2014, or face a penalty of $95 a year, or 1% of their annual income - whichever is higher.



Read more HERE

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Mandate delay will cost $12 billion, affect 1 million workers

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's decision to delay implementation of part of his healthcare reform law will cost $12 billion and leave a million fewer Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance in 2014, congressional researchers said Tuesday.

The report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is the first authoritative estimate of the human and fiscal cost from the administration's unexpected one-year delay announced July 2 of the employer mandate - a requirement for larger businesses to provide health coverage for their workers or pay a penalty.

The analysts said the delay will add to the cost of "Obamacare's" insurance-coverage provisions over the next 10 years. Penalties paid by employers would be lower and more individuals who otherwise might have had employer coverage will need federal insurance subsidies.

View the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/30/us-usa-healthcare-employers-idUSBRE96T1DI20130730

Friday, September 20, 2013

Updated HIPPA rules go into effect Monday

Health carriers are supposed to start complying with updated HIPAA privacy rules Monday.
The new privacy regulations -- based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 -- officially took effect March 26, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gave health insurers and health care providers six months to meet the new privacy and data security standards.

Agents and other "business associates" of health insurers will have up to a year to shift to contracts that reflect the new rules.

To help insurers and agents comply with notice requirements in the new rules, the Office for Civil Rights at HHS has developed a collection of model privacy rights notices for health plans.
The collection includes a booklet version, a version that combines a quick summary with the full version, and a text-only version.

A health insurer must make its notice available to any person who asks for it, officials said.
A covered entity also must post the notice on any website it maintains that provides information about its customer services or benefits, officials said.

View the article HERE

Myth vs. Fact #1

Myth vs. Fact- Myth #1: All Businesses Will Be Required to Provide Health Insurance to All of Their Employees


As a business owner, it’s important to understand how the Affordable Care Act can affect your business. However, with so many misconceptions about how the Affordable Care Act works, this can be difficult. To clarify the myths versus facts, we’re launching a new blog series called “Myth vs. Fact: The Affordable Care Act and Small Business”.
 
This blog covers one of the most common myths we’ve seen out there: All businesses will be required to provide health insurance to all of their employees.

Fact: Employers are not required to provide coverage to their employees under the Affordable Care Act. However, starting in 2014, some businesses that do not offer health coverage to their full-time employees may be subject to a shared responsibility payment under the health care law.

How do I know if I may be subject to an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment?

Businesses with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) employees that do not offer affordable health insurance that provides a minimum level of coverage to their full-time employees (and dependent children under the age of 26 starting in 2015) may be subject to a shared responsibility payment if at least one of their full-time employees receives a premium tax credit in an Affordable Insurance Exchange, or Marketplace. For the purposes of these provisions, a full-time employee is one who is employed an average of at least 30 hours per week.
 
Continue reading HERE

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Business Owners May Face $100-Per-Day Penalty Under ObamaCare

Business Owners May Face $100-Per-Day Penalty Under ObamaCare

Small business owners who thought they were off the hook for ObamaCare regulations until 2015 may be in for an expensive wake-up call next month.
Beginning Oct. 1, any business with at least one employee and $500,000 in annual revenue must notify all employees by letter about the Affordable Care Act’s health-care exchanges, or face up to a $100-per-day fine. The requirement applies to any business regulated under the Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of size. Going forward, letters are to be distributed to any new hires within 14 days of their starting date, according to the Department of Labor.
Earlier this summer, the employer mandate, which states that every business with at least 50 or more full-time employees must offer workers acceptable coverage or face a $2,000 penalty per-worker, per-year, was pushed back until 2015. But the Oct. 1 employee-notification deadline stands. Keith McMurdy, partner at FOX Rothschild LLP, says the $100 per-day fine has been “unfortunately overlooked” by many small businesses, and the dollar amount on the penalty comes from the general per-day penalty under the ACA.


Read more: http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/legal-hr/2013/09/06/new-obamacare-penalty-that-biz-may-not-know-about/#ixzz2eaumXYt5

Thursday, August 29, 2013

PPACA More Unpopular Than Ever...

Just months before its main provisions go into effect, a new poll shows that President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is more unpopular than ever.
According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 49 percent of Americans say the law is a bad idea, the highest number recorded on this question since the poll began asking it in 2009.

Just 37 percent say the PPACA is a good idea.

The large number of law opponents isn’t great news for the administration, which has been struggling to market the law in the months before the legislation's main components kick in. Enrollment in the law’s health care exchanges is set to begin Oct. 1, with coverage beginning in January.

Many critics have slammed the law for doing little to rein in out-of-control health care costs, though curbing costs was a main initiative of PPACA.

The new poll found that about four in 10 of those surveyed think they will be worse off under the law. By comparison, 19 percent say they’ll be better off, and 39 percent say the law won’t make much of a difference.

The poll also shows deep divisions by political party affiliation. By a 35 percent to 11 percent margin, Democrats say they’ll be better off under PPACA. But Republicans say they’ll be worse off, 67 percent to 4 percent.

Those without health insurance also have a more positive view of the health care law than those who have insurance.

Previous surveys have found that Americans are widely confused over the law and how it will affect them.

Read more here http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/06/06/ppaca-more-unpopular-than-ever?ref=hp

Friday, August 23, 2013

'Pay or play' postponed; most plan design, notice and fee requirements remain in place

Health Care Law's Employer Mandate Delayed Until January 2015

'Pay or play' postponed; most plan design, notice and fee requirements remain in place


The Obama administration caught the U.S. business community by surprise when it announced a one-year delay, until Jan. 1, 2015, in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA) mandate that employers with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees provide health care coverage to their full-time employees (those working on average 30 or more hours per week) or pay steep penalties.

The announcement, by Mark J. Mazur, the assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, was made via the Treasury Notes blog late in the day on July 2, 2013. Mazur said the mandate's delay is intended to "provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are moving toward making health coverage affordable and accessible for their employees." He added: "During this 2014 transition period we strongly encourage employers to maintain or expand health coverage. Also, our actions today do not affect employees’ access to the premium tax credits available under the ACA (nor any other provision of the ACA)."

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

It’s the Affordable Care Act. But What Is Affordable?

It’s the Affordable Care Act. But What Is Affordable?


Under the Affordable Care Act, if a company with 50 employees hopes to avoid the penalty in the so-called employer mandate, it is not enough to merely offer those workers health insurance. The insurance must be “affordable,” among other things, and the law is very specific about what affordable means: It means the employee’s share of the premium cannot exceed 9.5 percent of the employee’s household income.
If this seems straightforward, putting it into action has been anything but. Household income is the benchmark because the Affordable Care Act ties affordability to the tax credits and subsidies available to help individuals purchase insurance in the new marketplaces created by the law. In fact, the penalty for employers who offer unaffordable insurance comes into play only when employees use these subsidies to buy their own insurance rather than accept the company’s coverage.
But employers, of course, are in no position to know what their employees’ household income might be, least of all as determined by the esoteric definition of household income used by the Internal Revenue Service. Among other things, determining household income would force employers to find out how much their employees’ spouses make and even to track down certain private household expenses, like alimony payments.

So the I.R.S., which is writing the regulations for the mandate, has proposed three alternatives to determining household income, safe harbors that would permit employers to comply with the mandate and avoid the penalty. First, a company could use the wages it reports to the I.R.S. on Form W-2 as a substitute for household income. So long as the employee’s share of the insurance premiums is no more than 9.5 percent of the wages reported in Box 1 of the form (meaning the amount excludes deferrals such as 401k or flexible spending account contributions), the coverage would be deemed affordable. (Again, this is for companies with more than 50 employees; smaller companies are under no obligation to provide health insurance.)

Click here for the full article!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Bracing for "Obamacare," Some Businesses Try PEO's



Bracing for "Obamacare," Some Businesses Try PEO's

ESCO Communications, an Indianapolis-based audio/visual equipment installer, has provided health insurance for its 100 employees for more than 40 years, but when CEO Chip Roth was faced with 40 percent price hike on the company's plan last year, he realized he needed to make a change. The cost increase--coupled with expected complexities of the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare--led Roth to WorkSmart Systems, a local professional employer organization that pools health benefits for the employees of 200 small companies.

"Health insurance was the real driver," Roth says. "By joining a larger pool and spreading the risk around, we were able to keep our rates the same as they were."


Read more here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226492

Monday, August 12, 2013

7 Key Terms in the Affordable Care Act that you should know

The Affordable Care Act includes new health care reform terms used to describe parts of the law that affect small business. Understanding what these terms mean can help both self-employed individuals and small employers better navigate the law and take advantage of reforms that are helping to lower premium costs and increase access to quality, affordable health insurance.

Here are seven terms in the Affordable Care Act that small businesses should know.

1. Affordable Insurance Exchange

Also known as the health insurance “Marketplace,” the Affordable Insurance Exchange is a new transparent, competitive insurance marketplace where individuals and small businesses can purchase affordable and qualified health benefit plans. The Marketplace for small employers, known as the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), and the Individual Marketplace for consumers and those who are self-employed, will open in all states on January 1, 2014. Enrollment begins on October 1, 2013. To get the latest updates on enrollment, sign up for email and text alerts today.

2. Employer Shared Responsibility

Although employers are not required to provide health coverage to their employees under the Affordable Care Act, employers of a certain size will be subject to the Employer Shared Responsibility provision of the law. Under this provision, beginning in 2014, business owners with at least 50 full-time or full-time equivalent (FTE) employees that do not offer health coverage to their full-time employees may be subject to a shared responsibility payment under the health care law. A full-time employee is generally one who is employed an average of 30 or more hours per week. Businesses with fewer than 50 full-time or FTE employees are generally not affected by these provisions. To assist you, the IRS has developed a helpful set of Q&As.

3. Essential Health Benefits

The Affordable Care Act ensures that health plans offered in the individual and small group markets, both inside and outside of the health insurance Marketplace, offer a comprehensive package of items and services, known as essential health benefits. Essential health benefits must include services within at least ten core categories, among them emergency services; maternity and newborn care; prescription drugs; and preventive and wellness services. For more information on these requirements, visit healthcare.gov.

View the rest of this article here http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/community-blogs/health-care-business-pulse/7-key-terms-affordable-care-act-small-bus

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

What if my business has 50 or more employees?

If your business has 50 or more employees, you are considered a "large business" under the health care law. Several important parts of the law apply to you.

Most large employers can’t use the SHOP Marketplace

If you have more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, you generally won't be able to use the SHOP Marketplace to offer health insurance to them.
Starting in 2016, all SHOPs will be open to employers with up to 100 FTEs.

The Employer Shared Responsibility Payment for 2015

The Employer Shared Responsibility Payment is a new requirement under the health care law that will apply to some larger employers in 2015. You may have to make this payment if you have 50 or more full-time equivalent employees and:

View the article here:
https://www.healthcare.gov/what-do-large-business-owners-need-to-know/