Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/177159
The Employer Mandate continued
ceding calendar year. For 2015, the preceding calendar year is 2014. Size is
determined monthly by adding the
number of full-time employees to the
number of FTE employees.
• Full-time employees are individuals
who have worked an average of 130
total monthly hours (30 hours per
week).
• New counting requirements for parttime and seasonal employees: Part-time
and seasonal employees' hours will be
converted into FTE employees for
determination of employer size. Total
monthly part-time and seasonal hours
must be added together and divided by
120. For example, if six employees
each work 20 hours per month, they
will count as if the firm had one additional FTE employee.
• Large employers must determine
whether employees are full-time
employees: Large employers may measure monthly hours or use a look-back
period of three to 12 months to deter-
mine whether average employee hours
exceeded 130 hours per month (30
hours per week).
• An $8 billion small business health
insurance tax will begin on the fully
insured market, where the majority of
small businesses purchase insurance.
• Health insurance exchanges begin
offering coverage to qualified individuals and qualified businesses with no
more than 50 employees.
• Premium credits kick in, and the federal government begins subsidizing the
purchase of health insurance for individuals with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
• All individual and small group health
insurance policies must provide an
essential health benefits package, a
comprehensive list of 10 broad benefits mandates and services.
• Individual mandate tax begins. Most
individuals without minimum essential
coverage are subject to a tax.
• Individual mandate tax penalty
begins at $95 or 1 percent of household income, whichever is greater.
• Remaining insurance reforms take
effect, and insurers cannot impose coverage restrictions based on pre-existing
conditions. Modified community rating
standards go into effect for individual
or family coverage based on geography, age and smoking status. Insurers
must offer coverage to anyone. The law
also limits out-of-pocket cost-sharing,
and small group and individual market
insurance plans must include government defined essential health benefits
and multiple coverage levels.
2015mandate begins, requiring
• Employer
large businesses to offer health insurance or pay penalties. The penalties are
based on the number of full-time
employees during the preceding calendar year; whether the firm offers coverage to full-time employees; whether
coverage is "affordable" and meets
"minimum value;" and whether one or
more full-time employees qualify for a
continued on page 28
Component Hardware - Your First Source for Quality Casters
!"#$%" ' ()*+,$ -).! /!,$ 0$12
3$# ()*% 4!"#$% 5%)6#" %)7789- :8#/ )15)9$9# ;!%<:!%$ =$-!7 =8<$> 4!"#$%"?
3%$!# 5%84$"@ A!"# <$78,$%(@ :)%7<'47!"" 4*"#)1$% "$%,84$ !9< *91!#4/$< B*!78#( C
4!77 *" #) ?68@