MyTimeFlex
| Health Care Reform Update 4/19/10 To help eliminate confusion and concerns regarding the landmark health care reform bill signed into law on March 23, 2010, Employer Flexible will deliver a series of e-news updates, to keep our clients abreast the most current information, as well as a simple break down of the items that can benefit and/or adversely affect employers, as the information becomes available. While the bill was signed on March 23, 2010 (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) has most portions of the health care reform laws implemented over the next four years, the new law includes several provisions set to be implemented in 2010. The Act will affect how all businesses provide and administer health care benefits to their employees. However, the impact will be felt differently depending on the company's size. Click HERE for the Health Care Reform Bill Timeline. Timeline created by United Healthcare Below is a brief summary of the highlights: Small Employers with no more than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that purchase health insurance for employees are eligible for a credit, Effective this tax year in 2010. For more information regarding this provision, visit the IRS Small Business Health Care Tax Credit page. Eliminating Lifetime Limits - Prohibits insurers from imposing lifetime limits on benefits. Effective 7/1/10. Immediate Access to Insurance for Uninsured Individuals with a Pre-Existing Condition - Provides eligible individuals access to coverage that does not impose any coverage exclusions for pre-existing health conditions. This provision ends when Exchanges are operational. Effective 7/1/2010. Dependant Age Limit – Provides dependent coverage for adult children up to age 26 for all individual and group policies – Effective 10/1/2010. Discrimination Based on Salary Prohibited - Prohibits new group health plans from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that have the effect of discriminating in favor of higher wage employees – Effective 10/1/2010. Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions for Children - Bars health insurance companies from imposing pre-existing condition exclusions on children's coverage. Effective 10/1/2010. (This provision will apply to all people in 2014). Reporting Health Coverage Costs on Form W-2 - Requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by the employer for each employees health insurance coverage on the employees annual Form W-2. Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2010. Wellness Programs - The legislation has established a grant program designed to help small and mid-sized employers develop and strengthen workplace wellness programs. The grant program would require participating employers to offer wellness programs to all employees. Effective 1/1/2011. Over the Counter Drugs – The new bill has excluded over-the-counter drugs (unless prescribed by a doctor) from flexible spending accounts (FSA), health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) and health savings accounts (HSA). Effective 1/1/2011. Large Employers with more than 200 employees will be required to enroll employees into their health care plans automatically. Employees will then have the choice to opt out of the plan. Effective 1/1/2014. Mid-Large Employers with more than 50 employees that do not offer health care coverage to their staff will be subject to a tax penalty of $2,000 for every full-time worker. A company's first 30 workers would not count toward the penalty, but the assessment could be a sizable one. Effective 1/1/2014. Waiting Periods – Employers that impose a waiting period before employees can enroll in coverage will be required to pay $400 for any full-time employee in a 30-60 day waiting period and $600 for any employee in a 60-90 day waiting period. Effective 1/1/2014. Regulating Use of Annual Limits - When the Exchanges are operational in 2014, the use of annual limits will be banned for new plans in the individual market and all employer plans. |
