On July 2nd 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury changed the effective date for Health Care Reform for Employers with more than 50 employees to January 1st 2015. This is clearly a political move by the politicians in an effort to assist with their re-elections in October of 2014. With these elections approaching, I … Continue reading “Health Care Reform Postponed for Large Employers Only”

When the Affordable Care Act goes into effect in 2014 and all Americans are required to have heath insurance, they will have a variety of plans to choose from. California residents will be able to purchase plans on the Exchange (www.coveredca.com) and off the Exchange directly from the insurance company. Taking the time to review … Continue reading “Calculating Health Insurance Rates under the Affordable Care Act”

In 2014, millions of Americans who do not currently have health insurance will be required to purchase coverage. Many will not be able to afford the premiums they will be required to pay. To make coverage more affordable for low-income individuals and families, the federal government will offer premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions … Continue reading “Health Insurance Subsidy Calculator”

In 2014, the Affordable Care Act will require nearly all Americans to have health insurance, and you better pay attention. Americans who are not offered Affordable Health Coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan will be able to purchase health insurance through the exchange (CoveredCA in California). However, many will not be able to afford the … Continue reading “Health Insurance Subsidy Explained”

Understanding the requirements for offering health insurance involves several factors that need to be considered. Are you a Large Employer? To determine if you are an Applicable Large Employer, subject to the Health Insurance Mandate, you will need to determine if you are a Small Employer or Large Employer as classified by the IRS. Please … Continue reading “Health Insurance Laws for Employers under Obama Care”

We are going to define several terms that are key to understanding who is counted as a Full-Time employee. Understanding this series of measurements is crucial and can make all the difference in your qualification status under the act. Full-Time Employee: A full-time employee is someone who works an average of 30 or more hours … Continue reading “Who counts as a Full Time Employee under Obama Care”

We can begin looking at what is considered affordable coverage by defining what the Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate is. If you are considered to be a Large Employer, you will be subject to a penalty if you fail to offer minimum essential coverage. How is Affordable Coverage determined for Your Employees? As an employer, you … Continue reading “Affordable Health Coverage Defined”

Starting in 2014, there are two types of penalties that will be imposed: the “No Coverage” penalty and the “Unaffordable Coverage” penalty. The penalty amounts will be adjusted for inflation after 2014. No Coverage Penalty: If a Large Employer doesn’t offer minimum essential health coverage to 95% of its Full-Time employees and their dependent children, … Continue reading “Health Insurance Penalties for Employers Explained”

Even though we have defined a Full-Time employee under the terms of this act, understanding how we define Variable Hour Employees is challenging. Enrolling or dis-enrolling employees on a monthly basis would create an administrative nightmare for employers and regulators because of their varied hours worked. This challenge led the IRS to define periods that … Continue reading “Look-Back Measurement Period Explained”

Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will require all non-grandfathered individual and small business health insurance plans inside and outside of the exchanges(CoveredCA) to cover a uniform set of products and services known as Essential Health Benefits (EHB). This provision is designed to provide a standard level of coverage to anyone who has an … Continue reading “Essential Health Benefits Provides Same Coverage Across California Health Plans”