As time passes more and more employers are becoming subject to the health reform law’s employer mandates.
Starting in 2016, every company with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees are required to offer affordable health coverage to full-timers and their dependents or pay a fine.
To pass muster, the employer’s insurance plan must also provide “minimum value” to the employees. Meaning that the plan is designed to pay at least 60% of the cost of covered health benefits and provide substantial coverage of inpatient hospital and physician services.
The 2015 mandate applied only to firms with 100 or more full-time-equivalent workers.
The fines for noncompliance continues to rise.
One hits companies that don’t offer coverage to at least 95% of full-time workers in 2016 if even one full-timer opts to buy insurance through a government exchange and receives a subsidy to help pay the premiums.
For 2016, the fine equals $2,160 times the number of full-time employees, less 30.
Firms offering unaffordable insurance also owe a higher penalty $3,240 for each full-time employee who gets a tax credit for buying coverage on an exchange.