If you are unsure on how the Healthcare Act will affect your business in the near future, you can find answers at the Department of Labor web site. The main question is if an employer can be fined for failing to provide employees with notice about the ACA new health insurance markets? Some businesses were concerned about the $100 fine for not doing so.
Background: The ACA requires employers to provide their workers with a notice about the state health insurance exchanges. These exchanges will sell insurance to individuals who don’t get coverage through their employers. The exchanges are also available to small businesses.
The notice should inform employees:
- About the Health Insurance Marketplace;
- That, depending on their income and what coverage may be offered by the employer, they may be able to get lower cost private insurance in the Marketplace; and
- That if they buy insurance through the Marketplace, they may lose the employer contribution (if any) to their health benefits
The U.S. Department of Labor has two model notices to help employers comply. There is one model for employers who do not offer a health plan and another model for employers who offer a health plan or some or all employees:
- Model Notice for employers who offer a health plan to some or all employees
- Model Notice for employers who do not offer a health plan
The model notices are also available in Spanish and MS Word format at https://www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform/.
Employers may use one of these models, as applicable, or a modified version. More compliance assistance information is available in a Technical Release issued by the US Department of Labor.
The answer to the persistent question though is: No. If your company is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, it should provide a written notice to its employees about the Health Insurance Marketplace by October 1, 2013, but there is no fine or penalty under the law for failing to provide the notice.
Businesses should stay on top of such laws or make an alliance with a health insurance professional to keep you abreast of all developments.