Issue: # 108

January 10, 2014

2013 Season

Dear :

Every day employers ask us about Obamacare and if there is anything they should be doing. Since Massachusetts (Romneycare) was the model for the Affordable Care Act most everything being proposed has already been implemented in Massachusetts.

The irony is that Obamacare has been great for employers in Massachusetts. Originally the Commonwealth assumed the Employer Mandate under Obamacare would start in 2014 and repealed their Employer Mandate, referred to as Fair Share Contribution, effective 2014 on employers with 10 or more employees, Boston Globe article. This was done so employers would not be penalized on both a State and Federal level in 2014.

The Obamacare mandate, however, was delayed to 2015, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has still repealed the employer penalty starting this year. In 2014, employers will not be subject to any penalty on either a State of Federal level.

In 2015, when the Employer mandate does start on the Federal level, it will only apply to employers with 50 or more employees. In other words Massachusetts employers under 50 employees will no longer be subject to any employer mandates starting in 2014 due to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

In case you missed it, the Worcester Telegram did a story with our CPA, John Andrews,

John & Vanessa

that discussed the Wellness Tax credit from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that we detail in our video. Send an email to Bill or Vanessa today for details, if you would like to do a Wellness Fair at your business.

Do you have a topic or item you would like us to discuss in our newsletters? Please give us feedback.

Sincerely,

Bill Randell CLU ChFC

Vanessa Costa CLU,CHFC,

Fallon has great checklist for Employers

Concise and simple

Check out the marketing piece from Fallon that touches upon the important areas to pay attention to in the Employer Group Health Marketplace. We highly recommend this simple concise checklist from Fallon. If you have any questions on this, let us know. The two that really jump out at us are:

FSA is limited to 2,500
The maximum waiting period for employees to be eligible for health insurance can only be 90 days.

Eddie Grant's best song was not Electric Avenue or Romancing the Stone

Baby Come Back

Pediatric Dental

Will be added at 2014 renewal

In 2014 when your health insurance plan renews, Pediatric Dental is now a state mandated benefit and will be added to your health plan for groups with less than 50 employees. Benefits vary by insurance company so make sure to get the details when your health insurance renews. This is not meant to replace any group dental plan you have in place. This is for children to age 19 only. Please note that Harvard Pilgrim will allow you to opt out of this benefit if you verify you have a formal group plan in place that offers similar coverage.

Original Theme Song

Massachusetts Exchange enrollments

Connector authority in Massachusetts

In the news you've heard all about the National Health Insurance Exchange and how the expected numbers have not been met. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, however, does not participate in this exchange. We have our own state run exchange that is called the Connector Authority.

As of December 31, 2013, 497 of the expected 22,000 have enrolled, MassLive story. Boston Globe story yesterday.

Year ending tax reminders

As the new year begins, here are some year end reminders:

Notify employees participating on the health insurance to be on the look out for both the W-2 and the 1099-HC. They need this to avoid the penalty for not having health insurance.
If you have an insured disability program and benefits are taxable, make sure to look for the report from the insurance company to provide payroll to account for the income.