Businesses Prep for New Health Law
President Obama’s healthcare reform law took effect across America on Sept. 23, and in downtown Los Angeles, members of a speaking panel advised executives and human resources managers about how to navigate their way around the new healthcare landscape.
“Make sure you know what your strategy is,” advised Thom Lewis, one of the panel’s speakers. “Make sure you have a strategy.”
Lewis is the regional chief executive officer of USI Insurance Services, Southern California. He joined attorneys David M. Kozak and Carol K. Lucas in presenting the Sept. 22 panel, titled “Healthcare Reform! ...Get Ready,” which was held at the downtown Los Angeles offices of law firm Buchalter Nemer PC. The event was co-produced by the California Fashion Association.
The first part of the law to take effect will impact insurance companies, which will be barred from dropping clients who become ill. Family plans now cover adult children up to age 26. And new plans are also required to cover preventive care.
By 2011, employers will be required to disclose the value of health coverage on individual employees’ W-2 forms. However, Lewis reserved the moniker “D-Day” for 2014, when some of the major provisions of the law will take effect. By then, all American citizens and legal residents will be required to have minimum essential health coverage.
In 2014, state-based health care exchanges will launch the sale of health plans to individuals and to group plans maintained by small employers. Businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees are exempt from penalties. (Full-time employees are those who work at least 30 hours per week.) Employers with 50 or more employees might face penalties if employees receive government assistance through an exchange. Voucher programs will allow various “opt outs” for eligible employees. Employers with 200 or more employees are required to automatically enroll eligible employees into the company’s group plan.
To offset the cost, the government will offer businesses tax breaks for tax years 2010 to 2013. Qualified small businesses will be eligible for tax credits of up to 35 percent for certain qualifying contributions for health coverage, according to a research note that Kozak co-authored.—Andrew Asch
