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:
- Expand who your health insurance covers, and
- 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.
- Share on
Free Training & Resources
White Papers
Provided by UJET
Further Reading
Employer health insurance plan costs are set to spike for next year. All the experts are in agreement on that point. The only question is j...
If your company’s employees are like most, they’d score a big fat F on a financial literacy test. Every year, the Teachers ...
Here’s a common scenario: An individual leaves one employer for another. The previous employer offered a 401(k) plan. The individu...
Employee experience – including employee mental health – has become a higher priority for many organizations, according to rese...
What should you do if you mistakenly pay out too much for one of your employer-provided benefits, such as your retirement plan? Plan spo...
Employers will see clearer control over pharmacy benefit costs and their impact on the income statement, with Finance and HR sharing more e...
