2016 ACA Changes for Employers

By John Machalski

One questions I receive regularly is, “What do I need to know as an employer regarding health care?”

For employers, the year 2016 marks several notable changes to the ever-evolving landscape of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Although many of the changes target employers with more than 50 employees it is good for businesses of all sizes to be aware of the basic aspects of the law.  Here are the top aspects of the ACA that employers should be aware of for 2016:

• The employer mandate now applies to employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Employers with more than 50 FTEs must now:
  • Track the hours of part-time, seasonal and variable hour employees.
  • Establish determination periods for look-back criteria.
  • Disclose the determination periods in the ERISA Summary Plan Description.
• For employers subject to the employer mandate the penalty for failing to provide minimum-essential coverage will increase from $2000 to $2080 per employee, and the penalty for failing to provide affordable & minimum value health coverage will be increased from $3000 to $3240. Furthermore, the penalties for failing to file accurate informational returns with the IRS will be increased.
• The threshold for the affordability standard will be increased from 9.5% or less of a full-time employee’s household income to 9.66% or less. This means that a full-time employee’s contribution towards employer provided health insurance can be no more than 9.66% of that employee’s annual household income.

There are several other minor changes that can impact employers that take effect in 2016.  If you would like to find out more about those changes or any aspect of employer sponsored health insurance feel free to call me here at Hometown 631-589-0100.