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Depleting savings, working extra hours, and increasing credit card limits are just a few of the strategies 20% of insured US workers are undertaking in order to cover at least some of their excessive medical costs. This is according to a Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times survey released on January 5^th, which shows that 1/5^th of Americans who are insured are facing significant economic challenges due to medical bills that are unaffordable. 

The New Year brought good news for those employers required to file tax returns reflecting healthcare coverage for the first time. The IRS and the Department of Treasury have extended deadlines for the employer mandate (also known as “pay or play”) for both employee notifications and filing with the IRS.

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The New Year is upon us and although many organizations will remain in a 2015 state-of-mind with regard to tax returns, it is imperative that planning for changes to the ACA in 2016 be happening simultaneously. Below is a brief run-down on what businesses can expect to shift for them in the next 12 months:

Nonstop for Nonprofits program subsidizes the cost for
an exclusive training to elevate board leadership

Non-traditional healthcare broker Nonstop and the Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM) have partnered to offer independent sector organizations in Southern California an in-depth training designed to strengthen executive and board leadership.  Through the Nonstop for Nonprofits program, Nonstop has granted $25,000 to CNM to fund the Nonprofit Board Excellence Training – a multi-day workshop that will use collaborative “action-learning” to focus on board leadership and oversight, governance and performance, and financial sustainability and fund development.

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The holiday season is a frantic time of year and it coincides with cold and flu season - add on top of that employees stretched thin due to work and family responsibilities, and self-care, like exercise, good nutrition, and sleep can fall by the wayside. This puts employee engagement at risk.

According to Forbes, healthy employees are essential to a high-functioning organization. Employees’ general awareness is directly related to success in the workplace, and sick employees (whether acutely ill or chronically ill) cannot focus as well on their work as healthy ones. Healthy employees who are aware of their responsibilities and can keep a clear head are better able to stay organized and to manage their stress. Encouraging and managing self-care to promote overall wellness culture in the workplace should be a primary objective, and your organization can promote a lifestyle that leads the way to better health for employees.

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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.

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Perhaps the best-known ACA requirement for organizations is the employer shared responsibility mandate – otherwise known as the “pay or play” mandate. Put simply, under the rules of the ACA, applicable large employers (ALEs; 100+ employees in 2015) must provide affordable minimum essential coverage to at least 70% of their employees (95% in 2016). If this requirement is not met, either because 1) no coverage is offered; or 2) because coverage is determined not to be affordable and/or does not meet minimum value, then organizations will be responsible for hefty penalty fees.

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In addition to the very well-known ACA employer mandate, there are myriad of other lesser-known ACA requirements that could pack a punch for organizations that are noncompliant when it comes to penalty fees on 2015 tax returns.  Knowing the breadth and depth of these mandates and determining if you are in compliance (or how to achieve compliance if possible) will save on surprises come 2016.

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The ACA has introduced a number of terms that are either brand new or newly applied to healthcare, and many are especially important to know when filling out 2015 tax returns. Besides the “pay or play” employer mandate and penalty, there are many other mandates – and corresponding penalties – that must be attended to in order to avoid noncompliance. Understanding key terminology is an important piece of the puzzle.

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As we come up on the 2016 tax season, many organizations with 100+ full-time equivalent employees are preparing to include health insurance information in tax returns for the first time (in accordance with the ACA employer mandate). In addition, organizations are also examining all of the other ACA mandates to ensure they meet the requirements around mandates such as dependent coverage, lifetime and cost-sharing limits, waiting periods, preventive care, patient protections, and cafeteria plans.