On February 10, 2014 the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced that the Affordable Care Act's health coverage mandate for some employers will be delayed another year until 2016. The impact is to employers with 50 or more employees, but fewer than 100 employees, working at least 30 hours per week.
WHO IS IMPACTED
Employers with 50 to 99 employees:
- For 2015 must provide the employee and coverage report as outlined in the ACA rules.
- For 2016 must either provide full-time employees with quality, affordable health insurance or pay the penalties.
Employers with 100 or more employees:
- No changes have been made. These employers will still be required to comply with the original mandate beginning January 1, 2015 (or 1st plan year following 1/1/2015).
Employers with fewer than 50 employees:
- No impact, as this group was not previously subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions.
FURTHER GUIDANCE
The Treasury and IRS plan to issue further guidance to address:
- Remaining issues under the employer shared responsibility provisions.
- Final regulations that aim to substantially simplify and streamline the employer reporting requirements.