Employer Mandate in Effect for Large Employers January 1, 2015; Delayed for Midsize Employers
The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility (or, pay or play) mandate takes effect for large employers (those with 100+ full-time or full-time equivalent employees) on January 1, 2015. It was delayed from January 2014 to January 2015 for all employers, but then it was delayed again until 2016 for midsize employers (those with 50 – 99 full-time or full-time equivalent employees). The mandate doesn’t apply to employers with 50 or less full-time or full-time equivalent employees.
Note: Employers with non-calendar (fiscal) year plans may not have to comply with the mandate until the first day of their plan year (e.g., July 1, 2015). Please consult your legal advisor to determine whether this transition relief is available to your cooperative. All NRECA plans are calendar year plans. Co-ops with NRECA medical plans must comply with the employer mandate (when and if it otherwise applies to them) on January 1, which is the first day of their plan year.
Resources to help you
While NRECA cannot offer legal advice on the employer mandate, we have made these resources available to help you:
- “Affordable Care Act Update: Fact, Myth and Rumor” Webinar
- “Affordable Care Act Update: Employer Mandate” Webinar
The following frequently-asked-questions document from the recent ACA webinar on the employer mandate also has been posted online:
You can find more materials about ACA requirements on the Health Care Reform page on the Employee Benefits website.
If you have questions about the employer mandate, speak with your field representative or contact Jon Anderson at 703.907.6072 or at jon.anderson@nreca.coop.