Photo c/o whitehouse.gov.
As the White House reversed the timetable on implementation for key Affordable Care Act provisions that affect small businesses, The Washington Post released this primer for business owners to understand how the adjusted timetable will affect them:
“In the final regulations published Monday, Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department officials established three separate timetables for business owners, no longer spliting employers into only “large” or “small.”
Here’s what employers need to know.
For companies with 100 or more employees: These companies will be required to start reporting information about the firm’s insurance plan starting next year, and in order to avoid a fine, the company must cover 70 percent of its full-time workers.
That gives large employers a little bit of breathing room the first year. In 2016, companies will be subject to the penalties if they cover less than 95 percent of their full-time employees.
For companies with between 50 and 99 employees: These mid-sized companies get an even bigger break during the first year, according to the rules released Monday. While they too must begin reporting details about their insurance coverage to the federal government in 2015, companies that fall between 50 and 99 workers will not face any enforcement fines for another year, essentially delaying the mandate again, this time until 2016.
At that point, they too will be required to cover 95 percent of their workers in order to avoid the penalty.
For companies with 50 or fewer employees: Under the health care law, businesses that fall under the 50-worker threshold are not required to provide coverage or file any additional paperwork to the government under the employer responsibility clause of the Affordable Care Act.
That exempts the vast majority of U.S. companies from the rules altogether, though many have warned that it may create a disincentive to companies to expand beyond the 50-employee threshold. Other worry it could also encourage firms to move full-time workers to part-time positions, to avoid tripping the 50-worker limit.” — c/o The Washington Post
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