The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that it will delay enforcement of the Health Care Reform “pay or play” requirements for one year. As a result, any penalties (also known as employer shared responsibility payments) will not apply until 2015.
The “pay or play” provisions require large employers–generally those with at least 50 full-time employees and full-time equivalents–to offer affordable health insurance that provides a minimum level of coverage to full-time employees (and their dependents) or pay a penalty tax if a full-time employee receives a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction for purchasing coverage on an Exchange. The requirements were originally to become effective on January 1, 2014.
What does this mean?
If you currently are a small employer (under 50 employees), are insured with a small employer, or are insured on an individual health insurance plan…. nothing. So far the other provisions of the bill are unaffected, meaning a lot will change on January 1, 2014.
For large employers, you get another year to figure out what to do! The administration is encouraging large employers to go ahead and being/continue expanding the health coverage available to employees, but there are no penalties for not doing so in 2014.
AC Forrest continues to work hard to stay on top of all of the changes and helping you understand what’s happening. To discuss your particular needs and situation, we invite you to contact us today.
