by Holley Maher
When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was first passed, it included a grandfathering provision. In other words, if your plan was in existence on March 23, 2010, employer contributions didn’t change by more than 5%, and the plan design didn’t change to shift more cost to the insured, an employer could keep the current plan. Because of a variety of factors, very few have a grandfathered plan today.
The latest Supreme Court ruling reaffirms that the ACA is here to stay, but that’s not to say legislation won’t continue to evolve. At the beginning of 2014, another form of grandfathering, known “transitional relief,” was introduced.
The way things stand today, employers with two to 100 employees will face significant benefit, pricing and compliance changes in 2017. In a 2015 survey conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), 59.9% of employers said they consider administration challenges to be the biggest issue, with 20.6% concerned about cost. Another 53.4% anticipate participant confusion when it comes to communicating benefits.
How can employers plan for 2017? Consider the transitional relief option. Employers with two to 50 employees must take advantage of this offer before Sept. 15, and employers with 51 to 100 employees need to evaluate their options in the fourth quarter.
Before taking advantage of the transitional relief, be sure you’re working with a benefits consultant who is aware of how changes will affect the open enrollment period, the ERISA plan document, etc. Transitional relief is a Band-Aid; 2017 will be here before we know it. Start planning now.
Holley Maher (hmaher@SmartBenefitsPlus.com) is a partner at Maher, Rosenheim, Comfort & Tabash LLC, specializing in group and individual insurance.
Submitted 8 years 231 days ago