ACA Compliance Begins: What This Means for Employers

ACA Compliance Begins: What This Means for Employers

The beginning of the year has many employers reviewing 2014, exploring how they can best grow their business for the coming year, and getting proper tax documents out to their employees. This year has given employers one more factor to consider; it’s currently the first month of Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance for many employers.

Over the past year, employers struggled with the specifics of ACA compliance. As we begin to progress into 2015, sites such as Employee Benefit News (EBN) cite some key facts employers should be aware of.

• Any employer with more than 100 full-time employees in 2014 should already be offering creditable health coverage to employees working 30 or more hours per week over the preceding measurement period that carried through the end of 2014.
• Those employees to whom coverage was offered as a result of satisfying the 30 hours or more requirement of the measurement period should continue to be eligible for that coverage for a period of at least six months.
• Employees with variable hours are now in their second measurement period, and employers will need to determine whether they will be eligible for coverage for the 2016 plan year.

This overlap of the first stability period and the second measurement period has been a source of confusion for employers; but it is key since over the next year, employers have to remember that both apply. A full-time employee that had coverage in 2014 can begin to work less than 30 hours and not lose coverage for 2015, but they may lose coverage for 2016.

As employers begin to hire new employees in 2015, they will need to determine whether the new hire is a variable hour employee subject to a measurement period, or whether they will be brought on as a full-time employee. New employees that are hired on a full-time basis typically will need to be eligible for coverage within 90 days of the date of hire.

Overall, EBN recommends that employers should keep these three basic requirements in mind as we start 2015:

• Offer and maintain coverage to those who are eligible
• Treat new hires correctly
• Count employees in accordance with the instructions for form 1094-C

By following these three requirements, employers should be better prepared for ACA compliance throughout the year.

At PL Risk, we understand all the financial considerations your clients have to make at the beginning of the year. One of these considerations should always be their insurance coverage. Our products include Employment Practices Liability, Errors & Omissions Liability, and more. Please contact us today at (855) 403-5982 to learn more about our products and the industries we serve.