Photo: calendarswamp.blogspot.com
It may seem premature to begin thinking about 2017 tax season when we haven’t even started in on the 2016 one yet, but when it comes to the ACA earlier is always better. Especially if your organization is – or will be - an applicable large employer (ALE) in 2016, and required to offer 95% of employees affordable healthcare. Understanding all of the employer mandates – from dependent care, to cafeteria plans, to the shared responsibility requirement – is absolutely crucial to planning for 2016 and essential to saving potentially multiple thousands of dollars in penalties.
Between now and January, open enrollment provides a multitude of opportunities to make key decisions about employer-sponsored healthcare and what makes the most sense for an organization. But in order to make thoughtful and beneficial decisions appropriate for everyone involved (e.g. employees, boards, stakeholders), it is recommended that leadership teams take the time to review the laws, exclusions, and possible penalties in detail, and then explore possible options. Planning now will save time and money when it comes to this time next year.
One particularly innovative way to not only ensure compliancy with ACA laws, but to also save valuable time and money for your organization is through a partial self-insurance plan. With partial self-insurance, organizations purchase less expensive, high-deductible healthcare plans (HDHPs) for employees and then provide supplementary funds for all enrolled employees. These supplementary funds help pay for out-of-pocket expenses related to having a HDHP. In the end, the organization and the employees save money, and ACA mandates are covered through the HDHP.
To find out more about partial self-insurance, please contact us.
To learn more about all of the ACA mandates, penalties, and exclusions in detail – as well as key terms and deadlines related to the ACA in 2016 –
download The Nonstop Guide to ACA Penalties for the 2015 Tax Year
