Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/440996
SpecialReport Better Roads December 2014 29 Survey: One-third of large employers may only offer consumer-driven health plans next year The National Business Group on health released a study in mid-August that found that nearly one-third (32 percent) of large employers only plan to of- fer consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) next year. That's 10 percent more than in 2014 and almost triple the percent of the employers that offered CHDP- only plans in 2010. The study results were based on a survey of 136 large employers, most of whom have at least 10,000 employees. A survey released last year by Mercer LLC found that the average cost of coverage through CDHPs was nearly 20 percent less per employee than PPO coverage, a Business Insurance report noted. [For the report, go to businessinsurance.com/article/20131120/ NEWS03/131129988/2013#] This cost factor is important because a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will levy a 40-percent excise tax on health care premiums that exceed $10,200 per person for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage starting in 2018. IRS adjusts up affordability percentages for 2015 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the Revenue Procedure 2014-27 to index the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (PPACA) affordability percentages for 2015 under the employer's shared responsibility" (more commonly known as "play or pay") mandate. This employer mandate change adjusted up the income level, which exempts employees from the PPACA's individual mandate. For a downloadable PDF of the new IRS adjustments up, go to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-14-37.pdf. The applicable percentage table for 2015 is as follows: Full-time employee defi nition changed to 40 hours for healthcare reform Employers now have some additional reprieve against the stiff monetary penalties imposed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) for not providing qualifi ed healthcare to full-time employees. The House of Representatives has voted to ease the healthcare reform law's defi nition of a full-time employee by changing it to employees working at least 40 hours per week, Business Insurance reported. The PPACA legislation, which took effect Jan. 1, 2014, requires employers with at least 100 employ- ees – starting in 2015 – to offer qualifi ed coverage to full-time employees, which has been defi ned as em- ployees working an average of 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month, or face a penalty of $2,000 per employee. The same requirement applies to employers with between 50 and 99 employees, effective in 2015, the Business Insurance report says. Changing the classifi cation of a fulltime worker for 30 hours per week to 40 hours per week would reduce the number people receiving employer-based coverage by about 1 million, but it would increase the number of uninsured, the Obama Administration said in a statement. Household income percentage of Federal poverty line: Initial percentage Final percentage Less than 133 percent 2.01 percent 2.01 percent At least 133 percent but less than 150 percent 3.02 percent 4.02 percent At least 150 percent but less than 200 percent 4.02 percent 6.34 percent At least 200 percent but less than 250 percent 6.34 percent 8.10 percent At least 250 percent but less than 300 percent 8.10 percent 9.56 percent At least 300 percent but not more than 400 percent 9.56 percent 9.56 percent Source: IRS (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-14-37.pdf)