Beginning in 2014, large employers must offer health insurance coverage to its employees or pay a penalty to the Federal Government. A large employer is defined as an employer that employs an average of 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees in the prior calendar year.
While large employers have traditionally defined the number of hours its employees must work in order to be eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance, under the Affordable Care, eligibility for employer-sponsored health insurance is defined in a new and specific way beginning in 2014.
Benefit eligible employees are defined as those employees averaging 30 hours or more across an employer-defined time frame. If an individual meets the threshold of 30 hours, then the employer must make an offer of coverage for health insurance or be subject to a penalty.
Finally, you will also need to remember to amend your benefit plan on the plan anniversary in 2014 to ensure compliance with these changes.
Mike Novelli, Vice President Reform Implementation at AultCare
