Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Supreme Court Ruling Requires Action


Take one issue at a time and stay on track.
By David Wetzler, President and Benefits Consultant

In a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  While there are many fine points to the ruling that are still being reviewed, the June 28 ruling makes it clear that the individual mandate is constitutional.

Here are a few things you need to understand about how this impacts many businesses right now.
  1. The Medical Loss Ratio rebates will be forthcoming, and many companies will see some kind of financial reimbursement from their carriers.   It will be your responsibility to determine what to do with these funds, keeping in mind compliance guidelines related to your specific situation.
  2. The Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) mandate will take effect starting with renewals beginning after September 23, 2012.  
  3. The new regulations for reporting aggregate cost of health coverage for the 2012 reporting year on W-2s will take effect in January of 2013.  Employers should begin preparing for this now. 
  4. You will need to amend flexible medical spending account plans to comply with the $2,500 cap, applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2013;
  5. Prepare to begin the additional Medicare tax withholding for certain high income earners which is effective in 2013; and
  6. For employers with 50 or more full-time employees, you must begin to look down the road to 2014; with an eye on what impact the shared responsibility tax may have on your business and employee population.
  7. Health plans must include the the expanded list of no-cost sharing services for Women’s Preventive Health Care.
  8. For those businesses with self-insured plans, a Comparative Effectiveness Research Fee as outlined in the Internal Revenue Code (section 4376) will be required.

SRA Benefits has anticipated this moment for many months and is ready to advise companies on what needs to be done in each of these areas to keep ensure compliance.  Contact us today for further information: info@srabenefits.com.

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