If you employ 50 or more full-time or full-time-equivalent employees, you should be ready for the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, as we are now T-minus 44 days from the New Year. While you’re planning holiday parties and strategizing for Black Friday, don’t overlook prepping for ACA compliance.
Here’s the good news: 92% of Paycom’s ACA webinar attendees feel their company is in compliance with the ACA. That’s a staggering number considering all of the changes and unknowns that still exist with one of the largest changes to health care our country has ever seen. If you aren’t among that 92%, here’s what you should be asking yourself as you head into the New Year.
ACA New Year 101:
- What should I have been tracking in 2014? This was the year for determining whether you will be considered a large employer when the mandate takes effect Jan. 1, 2015. Per ACA’s definition, large employers are companies with 50 or more full-time or full-time-equivalent employees. You would determine your employee count by looking at a time frame of your choosing between three and 12 consecutive calendars months. During your measurement period, you also would determine who your full-time employees will be for 2015.
- Must I comply in 2015? If you have 100 or more employees on New Year’s Eve, you must begin offering affordable insurance to your employees in 2015 that meets the ACA’s minimum essential value. Those with 50 to 99 employees have been given an extra year – or “transitional relief” – to fully implement coverage; however, they still are required to submit Forms 1094- and 1095-B and C to their employees and the IRS reporting 2015 data in 2016.
- What data do I need to have ready for reporting? Employers held to the mandate must determine their measurement, stability, administrative and initial ACA period time frames. Once these are determined, it is vital that the following are tracked for each employee on a month-by-month basis:
- hours worked (in order to determine full-time status),
- whether an offer of coverage was made and
- the employee’s share of the lowest-cost monthly premium for self-only minimum-value coverage.
Employers also must report their total employee count and full-time employee count.
- Who will handle my reporting requirements? The IRS Forms 1094 and 1095-B and -C are now in their second draft, meaning they are getting closer and closer to becoming final. Find a human capital management provider that tracks the information above and makes it easy to populate that information on the required forms. Great news: Paycom does both!
With Republicans taking over the Senate majority in the Nov. 4 elections, additional changes to ACA are possible before the end of the year, but the largest portions of the employer mandate are set to take effect New Year’s Day. Are you ready?
The content of this blog is intended to keep interested parties informed of legal and industry developments for educational purposes only. It is not intended as legal opinion or tax advice and should not be regarded as a substitute for legal or tax advice.
