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Required Health Care
Act Notices Due October 1
Although the employer mandate provision has been delayed, October 1,
2013, is still the deadline for notices required by the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Before
October 1, all employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act are
required to provide current employees with notices regarding new
health insurance marketplace coverage options — in California,
that’s Covered California.
The notices inform the employee of
the existence of the marketplace, a description of services, how to
contact the marketplace and other required information.
Also starting October 1, employers must provide the notices to each
new hire within 14 days of the employee beginning work.
The
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has created two model notices — one
for employers that do not offer a health plan and another for
employers that do offer a health plan to some or all employees. The
model notices — OMB No. 1210-0149 — are available at
HRCalifornia.com.
Covered California
Californians without access to
affordable health insurance through their employer can purchase
health coverage through Covered California. Enrollment begins this
October for coverage starting January 1, 2014.
Covered
California is designed to help individuals and small businesses
compare health plans, get answers, find out if they qualify for
federal tax credits and enroll in a plan that meets their needs and
budget.
HRCalifornia Help
A special section at HRCalifornia.com includes an overview of
federal health care reform and helpful tools and resources,
including links to relevant forms, webinar recordings (free to
CalChamber members) and government sources of information on the
ACA.
A September 5 CalChamber-moderated webinar featured a
representative of Covered California explaining what small
businesses (1-50 employees) need to know about the state’s new
insurance marketplace.
Previous webinars in the CalChamber
series on the ACA included an overview of the act’s employer
requirements, tax and accounting considerations, and strategies for
employee benefits compliance. Recordings of the webinars are free to
CalChamber members, $99 for non-members.
Source: California Chamber of Commerce,
October
2013 - CMSA
Communicator
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