Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

With the passing of the 2012 federal elections we now have a clearer picture of what will likely happen over the next year with the Affordable Care Act.  Barring any last minute surprises from the Supreme Court (see article on this topic dated 11/26/2012) we should expect that the most significant provision of the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance mandate, will be implemented on schedule by 2014. The individual and employer mandates in the Affordable Care Act are fairly complicated. 
The initial questions most employers have are, how will the employer mandate of Affordable Care Act affect me as well as will I owe a tax/penalty in 2014? To determine if you will need to offer coverage or likely owe a tax, three scenarios have been laid out. Start by counting all of your employees, including part time employees, and review the three categories.