Beginning January 1, 2014, individuals and employees of small businesses will have access to insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health insurance exchanges (Exchanges). Open enrollment under the Exchanges will begin on October 1, 2013. ACA requires employers to provide all new hires and current employees with a written notice about ACA's Exchanges. 

In May the Department of Labor (DOL) released temporary guidance on the requirement to provide employees with a notice about the Exchanges. 

In connection with the temporary guidance, the DOL announced the availability of Model Notices to Employees of Coverage Options for employers to use to satisfy ACA's Exchange notice requirement. The DOL also set a compliance deadline for the Exchange notices. Employers must provide employees with an Exchange notice by October 1, 2013.

Please note that the Model Notice tells employees to "check the summary plan description (SPD)."  Is your organization's SPD compliant and up-to-date?  We have a solution through TASC Compliance Suite.  Ask your Alpha broker or account manager.