Treasury Department Delays ACA Employer Mandate for Certain Employers

Treasury Department Delays Affordable Care Act (ACA) Employer Mandate Until 2016 for Employers with 50-99 Employees that Do Not Yet Provide Affordable Insurance to Full Time Workers

On February 10, the Department of the Treasury released the final rules implementing the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA provisions require applicable large employers (generally, employers with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents) to offer health coverage to all full-time employees (individuals working at least 30 hours a week) or pay a penalty. Under the Affordable Care Act, companies that have fewer than 50 employees are not required to provide coverage or fill out any forms in 2015, or in any year.

The final rules address a number of key issues:

• Employers with 50 to 99 employees: Companies with 50-99 employees that do not yet provide affordable health insurance to their full-time workers will report on their workers and coverage in 2015, but have until 2016 before any employer responsibility payments could apply.
• Larger employers with 100 or more employees: The final rules phase-in the percentage of full-time workers that employers need to offer coverage to, from 70 percent in 2015 to 95 percent in 2016 and beyond. Employers in this category that do not meet these standards will make an employer responsibility payment for 2015.