What a Delayed Employer Mandate Means for your Business

What a Delayed Employer Mandate Means for your BusinessWhat a Delayed Employer Mandate Means for your BusinessWhat a Delayed Employer Mandate Means for your Business Berkowitz, Esq.Does your small geschftlicher umgang employ fewer than 50 full time workers or the equivalent? If so, you probably know by now that you have an extra year to comply.with the Affordable Care Acts employer mandate.While that may seem like good news for many employers, the extension raises as many questions as answers.Heres what is currently known about the health care reform law, the reasons for the delay and what your small business can consider doing to prepare for the new 2015 deadline.1. Many Small Businesses Are UnpreparedMany small businesses have reported that they lag behind in preparing for the employer mandate because of uncertainty about how to comply with the law.In general, employers may know what the health care bill requires of them. What they lack is the ability to translate that knowledge in to a plan to comply with the laws complex recordkeeping and reporting requirements.Add to that the challenge of deciding where to find the best health insurance plan and how to pay for it and it is no wonder many small businesses have delayed preparing to comply.The government has announced that it will provide assistance with these issues by convening employers, insurers and experts to revamp and simplify the reporting process so that employers can begin serious compliance planning as soon as possible.2.Recordkeeping Questions Affect a Variety of BusinessesIts true that relatively few small businesses with more than 50 employees do not already provide employee healthcare.An oft-cited study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 92% of businesses with between 51 and 100 workers and 97% of businesses with more than 100 workers already offer health benefits to their employees.But remember, the Acts recordkeeping and reporting requirements also affect the 96% of small businesses wi th fewer than 50 workers as well as those larger firms that already provide insurance.It is likely that concerns from these segments also influenced the governments decision to delay the mandates implementation.3.Health Care Reforms Impact on Jobs Is Still UncertainWe have all heard the dire predictions that implementing the employer mandate will kill jobs as employers struggle to remain below the 50 employee threshold. And while we cannot properly assess job creation statistics until the law actually goes into effect, there are arguments that in fact, the employment tarif could actually rise under the Act.The experience in Massachusetts, the state whose health care law served as a model for the Affordable Care Act, supports this conclusion.4.Ignoring the Law Not a Likely Alternative for Many Small BusinessesWill some businesses defy the law and pay the penalty instead of offering health benefits? Possibly. But given the Affordable Care Acts additional requirement that all Americans obtain health insurance by 2014, some experts believe that most employers will become the primary source of healthcare benefits for the majority of working Americans.5.Other Requirements for Employers Are Still in PlaceExperts caution that postponement of the employer mandate does not affect employers responsibilities under other sections of the law.Employers should still prepare to comply with a number of requirements that go into effect in 2013 and 2014 as planned, such as the requirement that all employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act provide employees with written notices about the availability of government run insurance exchanges by October 1, 2013.Additionally, to the extent that an employer currently provides health benefits to employees, it may still be required to determine if the plan meets the nadir affordable coverage standard of the Act by the original deadline of 2014.Of course, it is possible that more delays are coming, given that parts of the individual mandate are tied to the same reporting requirements that the government just pushed back a year.Stay Tuned . . . Many Republicans cheered the delay of the employer mandate as proof of the invalidity of Obamacare. Meanwhile, the Administration provided assurances that the postponement will help to strengthen the laws compliance and clarify its complexities.As a result, many small businesses have been left wondering what will happen next. How will the government resolve issues such as varied schedules, full-time equivalent workers and reporting? Will the insurance exchanges and other sources of benefits be ready for employers and individuals by the laws deadlines?Hopefully, an extra year will provide answers to these and other questions.