October 1 Obamacare deadline looms – are you ready?

You probably have a calendar dedicated completely to new deadlines required under the Affordable Care Act.

Smart move – there’s so much expected of employers in the coming months. But the minute you flip the page to next month, you’ll have to have met the first requirement for employers.

To-do task No. 1: All employers must distribute the new Notice of Coverage Options by October 1.

So are your finance staffers ready to meet that deadline?

Here’s a rundown of what you need to know, so you can be confident your company will get off on the right foot compliance-wise with the new law.

Who gets the notice?

No one gets spared in this first healthcare reform requirement.

The notice must be given to all current employees, whether they’re full-time or part-time. It doesn’t even matter if the person will or won’t be eligible for employer-provided coverage. Everybody gets one.

When is it due?

You must get that info into people’s hands no later than October 1, 2013.

But make sure staffers understand the work doesn’t end there. You have yet another task to add to your new-hire orientation. In addition to those I-9s and direct deposit enrollment forms, you’ll have to include this new Notice of Coverage Options. All new hires must receive this within 14 days of their date of hire.

How can you give it to them?

Your company has several options on this front. You can:

1. send it to an employee’s home by US mail
2. hand-deliver it  to employees at the office, or
3. send it electronically. One condition: The employee must have work-related email access.

Is there a form you can use?

No need to re-invent the wheel – the Department of Labor (DOL) has released a sample notice for employers who already offer health coverage.

You can download it here, and plug in your own information where needed.

You don’t have to use the exact notice as written – DOL says you can modify it. But you must include key information about health insurance marketplaces.

There’s another source for help, as well, just released last week jointly by the DOL, the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

It’s a series of frequently-asked questions to help employers comply with the Oct. 1 deadline. One major topic tackled:  whether you’re third-party administration can distribute the notices on your behalf to employees.

You’ll find the FAQ here.

Tick tock! No time to lose.

Jennifer Azara

Jennifer has covered business and finance for more than 24 years. She has written for CFOs, credit and collections professionals and accounts payable practitioners and has spoken at industry conferences on sales and use tax compliance.