The following SC&H Group “Expertise Beyond the Numbers” blog post from the firm’s Employee Benefit Audit practice examines the impact of the recent “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015” on employer Affordable Care Act (ACA) obligations.
On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law H.R.1314, the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015,” which lifts mandatory spending caps and raises the federal debt ceiling through March 2017.
The two-year bipartisan budget deal also has some notable implications for employers.
The bill repeals the Affordable Care Act’s automatic healthcare enrollment requirement. Employers with more than 200 full-time employees would have had to automatically enroll their employees in health coverage unless the employees opted out.
In 2012, the Department of Labor delayed the regulation’s implementation; however, the employer requirement still existed despite no clear compliance timeline from the Obama Administration.
Many employer advocates believe that the requirement was unnecessary, and could negatively impact employees’ eligibility for Marketplace/Exchange health coverage and premium tax credits.
If you are an employer and require additional insights into how this new law impacts your Employee Benefit Plans, please contact Jennifer Amato, a Director with SC&H Group’s Employee Benefit Audit practice, here.