IES Blog

Reminder: ACA employee communication deadline looms

Posted on August 26th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

Though enforcement of many aspects of the Affordable Care Act has been delayed, there are still requirements with which employers must comply. By October 1, 2013, employers must inform their staff about public-exchange insurance options that may be available to them. This notice must be delivered automatically and free of charge to all employees, whether through email or first-class postal mail. It must be written in a language that the employee can understand. These notices must be provided to employees at all companies, whether or not health plans are offered, and of all statuses, whether enrolled in benefits or not and whether part- or full-time. Permanent and temporary workers alike must receive notice.

The disclosures necessary include the fact that there exchanges available, information about any tax credits an employee may qualify for if he or she chooses a public exchange and a notice that public-exchange enrollment may cause the employee to lose the employer's contribution to the health plan.

The Department of Labor has provided sample letters for employers who do and do not provide health coverage, and these can be used as templates to reduce any struggle employee benefits administration professionals may experience in creating an appropriate notice.

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