Treasury Modifies Rules for ACA Employer Mandate

The provisions generally go into effect in 2015, but the agency modified requirements for some plan in response to comments about the proposed rules issued in December 2012. Under the ACA, companies that have fewer than 50 employees are not required to provide coverage or fill out any forms in 2015, or in any year.

The final rules phase in the percentage of full-time workers that employers with 100 or more employees need to offer coverage to–from 70% in 2015 to 95% in 2016 and beyond. Employers in this category that do not meet these standards will make an employer responsibility payment for 2015.

Companies with 50 to 99 employees that do not yet provide quality, affordable health insurance to their full-time workers will report on their workers and coverage in 2015, but have until 2016 before any employer responsibility payments could apply.

“While about 96% of employers are not subject to the employer responsibility provision, for those employers that are, we will continue to make the compliance process simpler and easier to navigate,” says Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark J. Mazur. 

The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, February 12. A fact sheet about the final rule is here.