ACA Healthcare Reminders for Connecticut Businesses

The coming months will be a busy time for many Connecticut businesses with open enrollment for their employees’ health insurance plans.

It’s important to keep in mind that the Affordable Care Act does not change the existing avenues for purchasing health insurance coverage–for example through private insurers–but adds the state-operated marketplace as another option.

Some, Not All, Requirements Delayed

The ACA’s employer penalty has been delayed until 2015, so large employers (having 50 or more full-time equivalent employees) won’t face penalties for providing coverage deemed unaffordable under ACA standards in 2014.

However, it’s also important to remember that other requirements are still in place. For example, notices of state exchanges (which should have been provided to your employees by October 1), W-2 filing requirements, and new taxes have not been delayed.

Healthcare Costs

Still a central concern for Connecticut’s employers is the escalating cost of healthcare, with recent headlines highlighting the issue.

Contributing to the problem is Connecticut’s high number of health benefit mandates—that is, procedures and treatments the state government requires insurance plans to cover.

Each of these special mandates affects the overall cost of health insurance, and when the mandates add up—Connecticut has one of the highest totals in the U.S., with more than 50—the problem gets worse.

As implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues, the state legislature must focus on policies that will reduce the cost of purchasing health insurance in Connecticut.