Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/117978
Inside the Numbers A blow to your company���s health? By Avery Vise avise@randallreilly.com I f you have 50 or more employees you may be just months away from some major ���nancial decisions related to health care. But even if you are much smaller than that, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ��� usually known simply as Obamacare ��� can affect your business directly through higher premiums and possibly even indirectly through less business. Congress passed Obamacare three years ago last month, and some signi���cant provisions have already taken effect. For example, insurance companies can no longer place lifetime limits on coverage. Children who don���t have access to employer-sponsored health care plans can be covered under their parents��� policy until they are 26. And insurers can���t exclude coverage for preexisting conditions on children 19 and younger ��� a measure that applies to everyone beginning next year. There���s also a temporary tax credit for health care programs that���s available for companies with up to 25 employees. Those are all wildly popular policies, even if most of those probably mean higher insurance premiums. The provisions that have truly generated controversy over Obamacare don���t kick in until 2014. States must offer health bene���t exchanges for individuals to buy quali���ed health plans, as well as exchanges for small employers ��� those with 100 or fewer employees ��� to buy insurance in a pool. And perhaps most controversial of all, at least with the public at large, is the requirement that everyone obtain health insurance, whether through employers, the exchanges or some other source. People who don���t buy insurance face a ���ne of 2.5 percent of their income. Many businesses face penalties beginning in 2014 To help pay for insurance and avoid the penalty, people whose household income falls below 400 percent of the federal poverty line ��� around $88,000 for a family of four ��� will qualify for tax credits. The tax credit costs the federal government money, but you could be among those footing the bill if you have 50 or more employees ��� whether or not you offer a health insurance plan ��� if any of your employees opt for subsidized insurance coverage. If you do not offer health insurance and at least one full-time employee is eligible for the subsidy, you will have to pay a $2,000 penalty for every full-time employee after the ���rst 30 employees. If you do offer health insurance and have at least one employee eligible for the tax credit, you generally will have to pay $3,000 per full-time employee receiving the tax credit. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce offers a ���ow chart to help employers determine whether they face penalties, along with other useful information, at www. uschamber.com/health-reform. The regulations are still being drafted, but if your company is near or above that 50-employee threshold, you will need to factor Obamacare into your business planning. For example, if your company currently has close to 50 employees, you should take potential penalties into account in determining whether that 50th employee will be a net plus or minus ���nancially. If your company already has 50 or more employees, your decisions are even more complex and you must take into account the employees��� income, affordability of your plan if you offer one, and the scope of penalties you could face. Even if your company is nowhere near that 50-employee threshold, Obamacare could have a noticeable ��� if perhaps less direct ��� effect on your business. For starters, all of the new coverage requirements could easily drive up premium costs. And there���s an even more subtle potential effect: Reduced pro���tability or growth of your customers, which could translate into less business. In a survey conducted in late 2012, more trucking executives expected costs related to health care to be their fastestgrowing cost this year than those expecting any other cost to rise the most. And that���s before the big kahuna of 2014. Regardless of your situation, now is the time to consult experts on how to minimize the impact of Obamacare in 2014. Avery Vise is executive director, trucking research and analysis for Randall-Reilly, publisher of Truck Parts & Service. 32 T R U C K PA R T S & S E R V I C E | TPS0413_Avery.indd 32 April 2013 3/25/13 4:41 PM