Transition Statement 2, 2013-45 (ACA)

This paper discusses how the ACA has impacted the employer stakeholder group. Peer-reviewed journal articles will be examined to show how employers have been affected now and into the future, along with how employees are affected as well. Many mandates and changes have influenced and impacted employers in how they handle and deliver health care coverage, as well as impacting their business as well. Many changes affect large employers the most, but small to mid-size employers are also affected as well. This paper will also discuss commonly used strategies and their risks for employers to use in order to help lessen the impact of the ACA.

When president Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, it came with a lot of new provisions that would vary when they would come into effect. The very first provision was the “Grandfather Clause” which allowed people to keep their insurance plan before the act went into effect. As long as the employer still offered that plan the employee could still maintain it because they were grandfathered into receiving that coverage. If someone bought an insurance plan after March 2010 they would not be considered under the Grandfather Clause. Thus, these individuals would be required to get a new plan by 2014 if their plan did not meet all the criteria, they would need to get a new plan that fills all the criteria. Another major provision of the Affordable Care Act is that patients have a guaranteed issue. This means that insurance companies are unable to deny anybody health insurance based on their health or prior health. This may create a problem because the risk pool of an insurance company may not have the best people. Eventually, this could lead to the majority of the risk pool for an insurance company to have people who are at a greater risk of needing health insurance. This will make the insurance company more vulnerable and the only way that they will be able to cover the losses is by raising the premiums on everyone even though there may be some individuals that are in perfect health. The next provision that was added under the Affordable Care Act is that the

were already providing health insurance because we’re in a competitive market and that helps us to retain and recruit good employees,” the Sacramento-based small business owner said, . One benefit for small businesses are tax credits“For us it was just good business. But pretty quickly we saw that our firm could benefit from the law. What appealed to us about the ACA were the tax credits and other financial incentives” (Taylor, 3), “A tax credit is an amount of money a taxpayer is able to subtract from taxes owed to the government” (investopedia.com , 1). this is good because businesses that barely make any money don't have to pay much taxes and they can maybe get more popularity due to the money they are saving. This is one example of how the ACA helps Small Businesses since …“ObamaCare creates the Small Business Health Options Program or SHOP, a part of each State’s Health Insurance Marketplace, where small businesses with 50 full-time equivalent employees or fewer can shop for group health plans. Starting on November 15th, 2015 those with 100 full-timers or less can use the SHOP” (www.obamacarefacts.com ,2 ). Small businesses are not required to provide health insurance to their employees if they wish because “... the answer is no. Under the Affordable Care Act, businesses with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees are not required to provide health insurance to their employees, and those employers will not face tax penalties if they decide not to offer their employees health insurance” (resources.ehealthinsurance.com, 1).This is good that very small businesses have the freedom not to get insurance because some businesses need to save money because of the expensive previous health care. Despite it being affordable, ObamaCare has given the freedom for small businesses to not give healthcare to employees. “Since health insurance for small business isn’t mandatory under the ACA, small

The most advantageous filing status for spouse A and spouse B to use is married filing jointly.

The delay of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will allow for small businesses to increase employee hours as well as hire additional employees until 2015 when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will take affect for businesses.

There are two new provisions of the Affordable Care Act that apply to employers of all sizes:

Understanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can be problematic, the goal of the ACA is to address the fact that millions of Americans do not have health insurance, yet they are contributors to the health care market, consuming health care services for which they do not pay. While this may seem to be a great idea, many Americans are not really sure how they are affected by this Health Care Reform. The goal is to make health insurance affordable, secure, and reliable for all. The ACA is a minimum coverage provision, individuals are given health insurance by amending the tax code. There is an individual mandate which stipulates all non-exempt individuals must maintain a minimum level of insurance or pay a tax penalty. ACA extends Medicaid, states have to accept or they will not receive Federal funding. The act also includes an employer mandate to obtain health coverage for employees. The Affordable Care Act has changed the way health care is provided and the way individuals will participate (The Affordable Care Act Cases. (n.d.). Retrieved September 3, 2015)

The Effect of the Extension of Dependent Coverage under the Affordable Care Act of 2010

On the other hand, Employer Mandate will require employers to provide insurance for companies with 50 or more employees (ObamaCare, 2014). For smaller companies, there will be other affordable plans. These mandates are possible because they will be will be funded is through taxes (ObamaCare, 2014). Although the wealthiest will end up paying more in taxes, this liberal agenda will promote a healthier nation. Another way funding will be applicable is by making changes in plans of hospitals and insurance companies. Those who participate in Medicare will eventually get paid less; this is part of the spending cuts that makes the ACA

Individuals checkbooks are not the only place that is going to take swift punch to the gut. Small businesses -- having 50 or less employees -- are also going to take a brutal hit. Several plans provided by small businesses will have to be terminated unless they are changed so they meet all the needs of the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The American Enterprise Institute “estimated that as many as 100 million working Americans will lose their employer-sponsored insurance coverage”. Small businesses already are paying more for their health insurance now they are going to lose it all together. Small businesses who

Furthermore, Obamacare will bring unforeseen expenses not only by increased monthly insurance premiums, but also through tax penalties for Americans that don’t comply. Unless you qualify for an exemption, you are now required to purchase health insurance or pay a non-compliance penalty (Patton). The Affordable Healthcare Act will now force insurance companies to provide coverage to Americans that are considered high risk or have pre-existing health conditions. Considering, the majority of young Americans are generally healthier; they will be paying a higher premium

The affordable care act was passed into law by congress and the president in 2010. This plan was established to help all individuals obtain health insurance, regardless of having a pre-existing condition through the government marketplace as an affordable amount, or if you did not meet the set standards, was offered a state based health care coverage (HHS, 2015). Those individuals who did not have qualified medical coverage for the majority of the tax year, they would be penalized and have to pay a certain amount or a percentage based off of their income. Also under the ACA employers are now responsible, depending on how many employees are employed with their company, to offer their full time employees health care coverage, or also face a

It was stated earlier in this paper that big businesses would benefit from this law; however, the exact opposite is true for small businesses. Businesses will be forced to provide healthcare for their employees or pay a fine, something they may not be able to afford. This may result in employees’ hours being cut or even the termination of the employee (“ObamaCare”).

A crucial component of the ACA is the individual and employer mandates. The individual mandate entails that those

The major tax reform, which will impact both individuals and business deeply, was approved by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on December 22, 2017 (IRS, Tax Reform). Some rules were taken effective starting January 1, 2018, including the reduced new corporation rate and one time “toll tax”. As a tax intern, I joined PwC New York office at such an exciting time, and worked under