The Ugly Truth about Affordable Care Act Compliance

Many employers do not have the systems in place to support efficient compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Deploying the right solution is critical given the requirement that 1095-C forms need to be delivered to employees by January 31^st.  The ugly truth of ACA compliance is that it will remain painful for employers until they embrace technology that can make compliance truly efficient and accurate.

An efficient solution for ACA compliance must have four core capabilities:

1. Track the data necessary for reporting compliance:

• Group health premiums, coverage dates and, for self-funded plans, dependent information
• Compensation data (payroll)
• Time (hours worked)

2. Aggregate the data:

• If the required data lives in disparate systems (Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, and Time Keeping) it must be aggregated to present a clear, timely, and accurate picture of ACA status in real time.  Aggregating this data is hard enough to do at the end of the year, not to mention continuously to support real-time decision making
• If employers are members of a control group (related employers that consist of more than one legal entity), data must be aggregated for the entire control group

3. Measure and analyze the data to support real-time decision making throughout the year:

• Alert the employer when employees attain or lose coverage eligibility
• Understand affordability to avoid substantial penalties for not offering affordable coverage

4. Report the required data to employees and the IRS each January for the preceding year:

• Self-insured plans must complete Section III of the 1095-C form and therefore must track and report dependent information
• Large employers (250 or more employees) must report data to the IRS electronically using the IRS AIR reporting system

Can your technology efficiently deliver on the requirements of the ACA during the 31 days of January?

Mosaic’s Workforce One platform is uniquely positioned to address ACA compliance.  Workforce One is a comprehensive workforce management system that has the Human Resources, Payroll, Benefits, and Time Keeping capabilities the ACA requires – all delivered on a single database with a single user- interface.  

If you would like to see how Workforce One can take the ugly out of ACA compliance, call (303) 645-4270 or visit www.mosaices.com.

Health Coverage Information Reporting Deadlines for Applicable Large Employers are Approaching

Who Must Report?

As a governmental, Tribal, tax-exempt or for-profit employer, if you are an applicable large employer you are subject to the Affordable Care Act information reporting requirements. These requirements apply to you whether or not you offered health coverage to your employees.

You are an applicable large employer for 2015 if you had 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in 2014.

What Must You Report?

If you were an applicable large employer in 2015, you must file information returns with the IRS and provide statements to each employee who was a full-time employee for at least one month of the year about health coverage you offered or to show that you did not offer health coverage.

What Forms Must Be Used To Report?

Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Return: used to report to the IRS summary information for each employer and to transmit Forms 1095-C to the IRS.
Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage: used to report required information to your employees and to report information about each employee to the IRS.

What Are The Due Dates For Reporting?

Forms 1095-C must be provided to your employees by February 1, 2016.
Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are due to the IRS by February 29, 2016, if filing on paper, or March 31, 2016, if filing electronically.

More Information

For more information, visit our page about what our ACA manager can do for you or give us a call at 303-645-4270.

Also, make sure to check out the questions and answers about Reporting of Offers of Health Insurance Coverage by Employers on IRS.gov/aca.