Healthcare reform: What IRS wants you to do first

Still sorting out what the new health law means to your company? Here are two actions you’ll need to take pronto.

Those marching orders come straight from IRS, Notice 2010-38.

Finance’s two biggest to-dos right now:

1. Expand who your health insurance covers, and
2. Adjust your cafeteria plan to account for that.

More people to cover

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, any dependent up to age 27 is now eligible for health insurance coverage. That includes a son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child or eligible foster child.

Technically, the health reform law doesn’t require insurance companies to expand coverage until Sept. 23, 2010. But the feds are encouraging insurers to offer early enrollment — and many are.  If your carrier is on this list, they’ve already expanded coverage: Cigna, Aetna, United, WellPoint, Humana and many of the BlueCross/Blue Shields.

More benefits to do it

Considering how expensive health coverage is, it’s no wonder cafeteria plans are such a popular benefit.

But now that employees can insure their children for longer, they’re going to want to sock away more pre-tax dollars to do it.

That’s why effective immediately, employers that offer cafeteria plans must let employees start making pre-tax contributions to the plan to help them pay for the newly-extended coverage.

Note: Your company has until the end of the year to amend your cafeteria plan language to reflect the new age limit.