Updates on the Affordable Care Act
In December, we reported on some of the recent updates to the Affordable Health Care Act and its possible implications for your business. This month, we revisit this topic with a look at upcoming deadlines and the latest news and how they may affect your business going into a brand New year. Here’s what you need to know about the Affordable Care Act updates for January 2014 and beyond.
Latest News about the Affordable Health Care Act and Your Company Insurance Plans
The BIG news everywhere when it comes to the Affordable Care Act is that many people have discovered that despite being promised by President Obama that they would be able to keep their existing health care insurance plans, the truth is that their insurance plans have dropped them. This news has come as a shock to many living in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as other areas where health care insurance rates are already at above-market prices for many businesses.
In South Florida, the most popular health care plans are $5,000 annual deductible plans, which sell around 80 percent of the time to businesses in this area. However, under the Affordable Care Act, employers will have to switch their employees to lower deductible plans, meaning insurance premiums costs are projected to increase by as much as fifteen percent for employers.
Then there’s the matter of a group of sisters in Colorado (Catholic nuns to be exact) who are upset about having to sign a required ObamaCare waiver form, which prevents those covered from having to pay for contraception – a mandate that violates their religious and civil liberties. The Washington Post reported that the “Little Sisters of the Poor for the Aged,” a Denver non-profit religious organization, that the waiver could feasibly, “authorize other people, over the nuns’ moral objections, to provide birth control services to employees of their nursing care facility.”
Upcoming Affordable Care Act Deadlines for Your Business in 2014
When it comes to the Affordable Care Act, for employers, deadlines are a large part of the concern. No business, nor their employees, wants to deal with possible Affordable Care Act penalties or fines that come with the territory. Businesses in Florida, New York, New Jersey and other states will start to receive insurance renewal notices early in 2014, and it will be bad news for many. This could include large premium increases, massive changes and new limitations to insurance plans and options, and even news that the company will not be allowed to keep the same plans for the coming year. Now, in the case of companies that renewed their insurance plans at the end of 2013, this doesn’t affect them until 2015.
PEO Review of Your Business Health Care Insurance Status is in Order
It’s important to note that if your business hasn’t made an appointment with a professional employer organization (PEO) to go over the new ObamaCare requirements, now could be the time to do this to iron out all the details and get ahead of the deadlines for your business. Remember that your employees have until March 31, 2014 to get enrolled in an eligible health care plan. Keeping them educated about this process, helping them understand the possible consequences of not getting insured, and giving them access to affordable health care options is the goal of the Affordable Care Act.
SourceOne Partners is Your Source For ObamaCare Solutions
SourceOne Partners is comprised of an experienced team of PEO and payroll professionals that can help provide healthcare solutions through partnership with a PEO for your small business. With offices in South Florida and New Jersey, we can help you find a solution to better manage your payroll services, employee benefits and company taxes so that you can save time, money and avoid the penalties of non-compliance, especially when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. Please call 561-674-0748 to speak with a payroll expert or click here to contact us online.