ACA Update: Final Reporting Requirements

Affordable Care Act for Business
30Apr

ACA Update: Final Reporting Requirements

In February, we shared some important updates to the Affordable Care Act that can have an impact on your company benefit programs. Understanding what the ACA means to your business is part of operating a responsible organization. Now, we want to bring you up to speed on what’s happening currently with the final ACA employer requirements for the remainder of this year and what to expect for 2015.

ACA Employer Reporting Guidelines Finally Issued

For organizations that fall under the ACA rules for employers, those businesses that have 50 or more employees working full time, health coverage reporting mandates have been established. The US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have established and released a report detailing the final rules of reporting under ACA for employers. These rules can be found published March 10, 2014 on the Federal Register under Information Reporting by Applicable Large Employers: Health Insurance Coverage Offered Under Employer-Sponsored Plans and Information Reporting of Minimum Essential Coverage. The areas of interest for the current ACA guidelines include IRS Code Section 6055 and 6056.

Basics of Final ACA Rules

Understanding the ACA rules for employers comes down to two critical areas. The first is for large employers who are offering highly affordable and sponsored health care plans to employees. The second is for reporting minimum requirements for affordable health care options, including those that fall under capped health care spending plans. In either case, employers are required to report if they have offered self-funded employee insurance or sponsored insurance for each and every qualified employee and their eligible dependents under the final ACA ruling. These include the requirement to report:

  • How many full time workers that the company has and if they have offered these employees (at least 98 percent reported) affordable minimum-value health care insurance.
  • The option to avoid identifying in the report which of the employees is classified as full-time, and to just include employees who may be full-time status.
  • The choice to omit certain data that indicates any waiting periods for coverage to begin, the employer’s share of any sponsored health care premiums, and cost-savings measures allocated to advanced payments of the premium tax credit.

These latest ACA rules are designed to streamline the process to make it easier to administer during critical IRS reporting seasons, while encouraging all employers to participate in making better health care insurance decisions for their employees.

Managing the ACA Final Ruling with PEO Solutions

It doesn’t have to be overly complicated to meet the government mandated health care rules, nor does your organization have to face the possibility of ACA penalties for employers. A professional employer organization (PEO) can help your business to better understand and administer these changes as they occur in the reporting structure of the US health care system. In Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, areas where a great many companies are struggling to make sense of the Affordable Care Act, PEOs are always a step ahead of government requirements. This means that the companies they serve with expert health insurance services are more educated and prepared to face the costs and challenges that lay ahead.

By using PEO outsourcing, the average business can hand over the liability of performing health care insurance audits and managing the complex filing requirements that the ACA has created. This alone can cut costs dramatically, putting more money into the budget for health care and wellness initiatives. Essentially, your business can be doing its part to make a difference in the health care of America instead of being mired in ACA employer reporting and administration updates.

SourceOne Partners provides access to PEO outsourcing solutions for ACA employer requirements and payroll administration. In Boca Raton, Florida and Brick, New Jersey there are experts waiting to help your company navigate the ACA effectively for the remainder of 2014 and into 2015. Contact us online today or call us at 561-674-0748 for your consultation.