As we all know, the 2014 regulations of the Affordable Care Act (aka PPACA aka Obamacare) are going in to effect in just about six months.
Are you ready for it?
Luckily there is plenty of information out there to help employers make their way through, but sometimes the amount of information can be as confusing as the source of the information. Below are just a few examples of checklists and information that I think to be among the most straightforward:
- Self-Compliance Tool – The “official” DOL checklist
- United Healtcare – A checklist for fully insured employers with 2-99 employees
- MM&A – Insurance company site dedicated to the Affordable Care Act legislation
- Hotchkiss Insurance Agency – A checklist for employers with more than 50 employees.
- JDSupra – a legal news site has a great deal of information.
- Ernst and Young – Important Tax information.
Speaking of tax information… Self-Insurers – take heed. The IRS has revised Form 720, the “Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return” to take into consideration the Patient Centered Outcome Research Institue (PCORI) and is due July 31, 2013.
The PCORI is tasked with “advancing the quality and relevance of evidence-based medicine through the synthesis and dissemination of comparative clinical effectiveness research findings” and is funded by a new fee imposed on medical plans.
The new fee affects all plans with plan years ending on and after October 1, 2012. For plan years ending before October 1, 2013, the fee is $1 times the average number of people covered under the plan. Fees are due no later than July 31 of the year following the last day of the plan year..
Luckily, the IRS has ruled that these PCORI fees are deductible
Finally, here’s a video explaining the ACA from KPMG. It isn’t incredibly exciting, but it does get to to the heart of the matter in very plain English.
That’s it for now. Although I do suspect that I will be posting more about this subject as we get closer to January…