health care reform

July 25, 2014

Health Care Reform Update

Several lawsuits have been filed by individuals and employers to challenge the ability of the federal government to provide tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to individuals in states that did not establish their own Exchanges (that is, in states with federally-facilitated exchanges, or FFEs). These lawsuits were filed in response to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule that authorizes subsidies in all states, including those with FFEs. On July 22, 2014, the D.C. Circuit Court struck down the availability of health insurance subsidies in states with federal Exchanges, while the 4th Circuit Court upheld their availability in all states, including those with federal Exchanges.that authorizes subsidies in all states, including those with FFEs. Click here to view the full article *This information has been provided by Midlands Financial Benefits, Inc.

March 12, 2013

The ACA Penalty

We have seen countless articles on the subject of what employers will face in the way of penalties if they don’t follow the new federal mandates for health care reform. The following article is a summary of the best articles we have found from industry sources. Health care reform known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) goes into effect Jan. 1, 2014. If you are an employer with 50 or more employees, the ACA requires “shared responsibility” for affordable health insurance coverage and imposes a tax penalty if the requirement is not met. Small businesses with less than 50 FTEs will be exempt from the employer coverage “mandate”. For employers of less than 50 FTE then the rules are much simpler and they may be eligible for a health insurance tax credit. Any employer with 50+ full-time equivalents (FTE) is considered a large employer. This includes all part time employees and the hours they work each month. A specific formula […]

January 21, 2013

Health Care Reform (ACA)

Some key issues employers should know about health care reform (ACA) and the changes which will occur in the next few months. 1. Which employers are affected most? All employers need to review the changes but large employers who qualify under the large employer – 50 FTE formula must be especially aware. For purposes of the penalties under the employer shared responsibility mandate, full-time is defined as an employee that works an average of 30 hours or more a week. Small businesses with less than 50 FTEs will be exempt from the employer coverage “mandate”. A small employer is eligible for the tax credit if it has between 10 and 24 “full-time equivalent employees” with respect to any taxable year. Small businesses are eligible to receive up to 35 percent of their contributions toward their employees’ health insurance premiums if they contribute at least 50 percent of the total premium cost. 2. What is the large employer 50 FTE formula? […]