Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
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18 businesses that employed an average of at least 50 full-time employees and full-time equivalents (FTEs) during the preceding calendar year are considered an applicable large employer (ALE), and are required to offer coverage. Addition- ally, any person or organization that provides minimum essential coverage to an individual must report to the IRS and furnish statements to individuals. This includes health insurance issu- ers, plan sponsors of self-insured group health plan coverage and the executive department or agency of a governmen- tal unit that provides coverage under a government-sponsored program. All ALEs also must fi le the report, regardless of whether the employer is a tax-exempt or government entity includ- ing federal, state, local, and tribal govern- ments, according to the IRS. For companies such as Four Star Freightliner, which operates six dealer- ships and employs 180 people, the ACA has forced them to add coverage on items previously not covered through their group insurance. Dealer Principal Jerry Kocan says his company has always offered good health insurance for his employees and their families, but additional benefi ts do add extra costs to business owners. "One of the things a business my size has to do is take care of their employees and their families," Kocan says. "I am responsible for 180 families and I have always tried to provide coverage that is good for them." The ACA has forced them to put ben- efi ts into place, however, that employees rarely or never use. "It forces us to pay for items that our employees don't need or have never asked for," he says. "That is the biggest issue for us." Fyda Freightliner, which employees 380 people, has been minimally af- fected by the ACA, says Controller Patty DePaola. "Our health plan already covered most things required in the Affordable Care Act," she says. "About eight years ago we changed our coverage for preven- tive exams to be covered at 100 percent with no employee copay. We have always stressed preventive exams and want our employees to get them annually. We feel that it is very important that all of our employees have a relationship with a primary care physician and receive all preventive screenings that are age and gender appropriate." T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 With the passage of the United States' Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010, all employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are required to provide minimum essential insurance coverage to all associates and their dependents. The law has forced businesses throughout the trucking industry to make, or at least consider, wholesale changes to their benefi ts packages. Employers with less than 50 full-time equivalent employees can still provide health insurance but are not required to do so. What is a full-time employee? The Affordable Care Act defi nes a full-time employee as anyone working more than 30 hours a week or 130 hours per month. Full-time equivalents are determined by adding up all of the part-time hours in a month (up to 120 hours/ employee) and dividing by 120. For example, if six employees work 20 hours/week, the employer would have four FTEs. What is a part-time employee? Part-time employees are categorized as anyone working less than 30 hours per week, and are included in a staff total on a sliding scale. An employer can fi nd its number of part-time employees by taking the number of part-time hours it assigns in a month and dividing that by 120. That number plus the number of full-time employees equals the total number of employees for ACA regulations. For example, a business with 40 full-time employees and 20 part timers accumulating 2,000 total hours has nearly 57 employees under ACA rules. Does your business need to offer health insurance? The Affordable Care Act requires some businesses to cover items that their employees rarely use. Cover Story