In preparation for the January 2014 start up of the
Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance Exchanges, employers must meet the
October 1 deadline to provide notice to employees (full and part-time) about
the Exchanges and their potential eligibility for premium tax credits. New
employees hired after October 1 must be given this notice within 14 days of
their start date. Guidance released by the Department of Labor (DOL) can be
found here.
The requirement to provide notice applies to employers
covered by the Federal Labor Standard Act (FLSA). In general, this means
employers with one or more employee who have a volume of $500,000 of annual
business. DOL guidance relating to the applicability of the FLSA can be found here.
Employers must notify workers about premium tax credits and
eligibility requirements for the Exchange. An employee whose
employer-provided insurance costs exceed 9.5 percent of their income are
eligible for premium assistance and to enter the Exchange. To determine
if an employee’s share of coverage exceeds 9.5 percent of income, a comparison
is made between an employee’s W-2 Box 1 income and the employee contribution
amount for the lowest cost for a self-only health insurance plan offered by an
employer.
The notice for employers offering healthcare coverage can be
found here.
The notice for employers without a healthcare plan can be
found at here.
The ACA assesses applicable large employers (more than 50
full time employees or their equivalent) who offer coverage but have at least
one full-time employee receiving a premium tax credit the lesser of $3,000 for
each employee receiving a premium credit or $2,000 for each full-time employee.
The ACA assesses applicable large employers that do not offer coverage
and have at least one full-time employee who receives a premium tax credit a
fee of $2,000 per full-time employee, excluding the first 30 employees
from the assessment.
Farm Bureau created documents explain how to
determine if an employer is an applicable large employer. You can find them here:
and here:
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