DOL Delays Health Exchange Notification Requirement for Employers -
Monday, January 28, 2013
Source: HealthNet
According to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), starting March 1, 2013, employers must inform all current employees and any new hires after this date about the existence of the exchange in their state and how employees can access it.
However, the Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that employers will not be held to the March 1, 2013 deadline due to a lack of information available to employers regarding specific state health insurance exchanges. The information required in the notice includes:
- subsidies that may be available to employees under certain conditions
- details about the exchange
- consequences of opting to purchase coverage at the exchange versus under an employer plan
The DOL’s announcement stated it is considering providing a model notice with generic language so that employers may use it to implement their own language to their employees. Additionally, the DOL wants to give employers more time to be fully compliant with the requirement that employees receive this information at a time that is closer to exchange effective dates. To that end...
When do employers have to comply with the new exchange notice requirements?
The Department of Labor expects that the timing for distribution of notices will be the late summer or fall of 2013, a date that will coordinate with open enrollment period for Exchanges.