PPACA – Part III: Other PPACA Changes and Timeline
On July 16th, HR Strategies began a quick three part blog series to take a hard look at the health reform in order to provide some clarity and guidance regarding PPACA’s impact on our clients and businesses everywhere. This three part blog series offers analysis and interpretation on the important factors/elements of PPACA, including a timeline of applicable changes.
Please note that many of the processes discussed in Part’s I & II, along with those mentioned below in Part III, will require further clarification and interpretation from agencies, such as the Department Of Labor, The IRS, and Health and Human Services. Rest assured, HR Strategies will keep you both updated and in compliance every step of the way.
|
Change |
Effective Date | Employer Size |
Comments |
|
New Flexible Spending Account Limit |
1/1/2013 for calendar year plans | All Employers sponsoring FSAs |
Employees may contribute up to $2,500.00 to their health FSAs. In the case of both spouses working, the limit is applied by employee, not to exceed $5,000 if filing jointly. |
|
Reporting Cost of benefits on W-2s |
Due 1/31/2013 for Tax Year 2012 | Employers issuing 250 or more W-2s |
Since HR Strategies clients receive their W-2 from us, cost of benefits will be included in the 2012 W-2s. The reported cost will include group health plan premiums (employer and employee contributions) that are COBRA eligible. |
|
Uniform Summary of Benefits and Coverage |
Open Enrollment and plan year effective date on or after 9/23/2012 | All Employers with group health plans |
HR Strategies is working with our carriers to develop these SBC. If an employer is not part of the HR Strategies Master Plan, it is imperative that the client coordinates with their carrier and broker to ensure the SBC is prepared timely. |
|
Auto-Enrollment |
1/1/2014 or later (pending guidance) | 200+ employees |
Employers will be required to automatically enroll their employees into the group health plan within 90 days of employment. Further guidance is expected. |
| Non-Discrimination Testing | TBA | TBA |
This requirement will probably meet the same guidelines of retirement plan reporting via 5500 (100+ employees) |