One of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the employer mandate.
Employer Mandate Companies with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees must offer full-time employees and their dependents (i.e., children up to age 26) coverage that is affordable* and provides minimum value**. |
* affordable = employee pays no more than 9.5% of his/her household income
** minimum value = plan pays at least 60% of cost of covered health services (“Bronze” plan)
The employer mandate was initially set to go into effect in 2014, but was delayed. It will be phased in starting with employers with 100 or more full-time employees in 2015 as follows:
Number of Full-Time Employees or FTEs |
Plan Year 2015 | Plan Year 2016 and Beyond |
1-49 | Does not apply | Does not apply |
50-99 | Does not apply | Employer must offer coverage to 95% of full-time employees and their dependents up to age 26 |
100+ | Employer must offer coverage to 70% of full-time employees and their dependents up to age 26 | Employer must offer coverage to 95% of full-time employees and their dependents up to age 26 |
An employee is considered full-time if he or she averages 30 hours of services per week, or 130 hours of service in a calendar month.
The penalties for not satisfying the employer mandate can be as high as $2,000 per FTE. That could be quite costly!
If you are a business owner with 100 or more full-time employees, you will be required to offer health insurance beginning in 2015. And of course offering health insurance is a valued benefit that attracts and retains employee talent. It also promotes a healthier lifestyle for your employees which can ultimately lead to improved productivity and higher morale.
Give our office a call to learn what options are available for your group.
When we assist an employer in setting up a group plan, we not only help you find the right plan, but we are available to meet with your HR department and/or your employees to review the options and assist with enrollment. Our goal is to make the process as easy and straightforward as possible for both the employer and the employees!
Please let us know if we can help.