It’s Time to Get Practical
After three-plus years of learning, digesting, studying, and attempting to adjust to the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and seeking to guide and support clients along the way, there is still much work to be done.
The details of PPACA compliance are a lot to absorb, and there is a lot to convey to PEO client companies. However, therein lies the opportunity. Under the category of “What PEOs Do Best,” the most massive regulatory upheaval the country has ever seen also provides the most massive opportunity for PEOs. But, it sure is a lot of work: it requires constant vigilance to keep up with the evolving regulatory environment, intense attention to detail, and a thorough understanding of how everything applies in the PEO context.
On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its long-awaited final omnibus rule modifying numerous aspects of the regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), including its privacy, security, and breach notification provisions. Many of the changes will primarily affect healthcare providers, but healthcare plans (and indirectly their plan sponsors) are also affected.
With 2014 fast approaching, many PEOs are in the process of planning how they, as well as their clients, will comply with the employer shared responsibility—or “pay-or-play”—provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). These planning efforts necessarily involve an understanding and analysis of how certain controlled group rules set forth in the Internal Revenue Code (Code) may apply in the context of pay or play.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) presents some of the largest challenges to employers of any legislation in recent memory. Many small business owners and executives have turned to PEOs for advice and expertise. Businesses with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees will be required to provide affordable healthcare benefits for employees on January 1, 2014—or potentially pay up to a $2,000 per employee fine. This year, PEOs will need to work closely with clients to help them prepare to comply with the PPACA and to decide whether it is in their best interest to “play or pay.”
The blogosphere and consultant worlds have been chock full of advice, opinions, and predictions about how the new law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), will affect businesses and employees. Unless you live under a rock, you are aware that a huge portion of the federal healthcare reform law is set to take effect in 2014—the state insurance exchanges and the individual and employer responsibility provisions. One important piece of the PPACA that has not received a lot of attention and becomes effective with the exchanges is that which creates what is referred to as “navigators.” This article will shed some light on the definition of a navigator under the PPACA and how it may affect PEOs.
Early in May, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius surprised health policy insiders and political observers with her announcement that Utah’s “fourth option” for health insurance exchanges was approved.
As we approach the start of summer and state legislatures begin to adjourn their sessions, it is a good time to take a step back and reflect upon what NAPEO has accomplished in the states during the first half of the year.
Thirteen years ago, NFIB established a new foundation, built to fight for small business in the nation’s courts (www.nfib.com/legal-center). We knew that more and more battles of great importance to our membership were being waged there, so we set a course that we hoped would, someday, take us all the way to the United States Supreme Court.
Family dinner-table conversations typically go something like this: “How was your day today, Honey?” “Fine.” “What did you learn in school today?” “Nothing.” Not in the Packer household.
The PEO Employment Index indicated incremental gains over the first quarter of 2013.
Well, another successful NAPEO Legal and Legislative Conference is in the rearview mirror and everyone is safely back home—no doubt edified by the knowledge gained at the conference.
Q. Is there another new I-9 form? A. Yes, the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) issued a new form I-9 that became effective on March 8, 2013.
Thank you to all who joined us at NAPEO’s Legal and Legislative Conference in May. It was a successful event with incredible attendance, and we appreciate your participation.
America’s 27 million small businesses represent 99 percent of U.S. employers and account for three-quarters of all new jobs created. The smallest of businesses stand to make the biggest impact on economic growth and job creation.
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