Navigating The Complex Rules Of ACA Compliance For Small Businesses

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had a huge impact on all businesses and enabled many people to obtain health insurance, yet it’s also proven to be a major headache for those still growing in the business world. With the newly enacted rules, smaller businesses are under more pressure to stay compliant and avoid costly penalties.

Those penalties continue to rise, placing small business owners in complex predicaments related to hiring and keeping up with the law.

While the small business community always has challenges, this adds a new layer that could become costly without education and help. If you’re a small business owner, it’s important to keep up with recent requirements as well as what may happen in the future.

It is understandable that you cannot keep up with the continuous changes with ACA. However, you have some options available to help you get through this confusion. Because in the end, the ACA can still help you and your employees obtain more affordable insurance without causing disruptions.

New Mandates from Last Year and This Year

When the ACA first became law, small businesses resented mandates that would require owners to offer insurance to employees. Last year, all small businesses with 100 or more employees received the new mandate to buy into health insurance. Once this went into effect, it made employers bear some of the provider costs, which created a cause for concern regarding a declining bottom line.

Small businesses with 50 to 99 employees had an extra year to prepare for an identical mandate, which came into fruition this past January. For these businesses, it has become an even more significant hardship since fines are quite steep. If you don’t adhere to the new rules, penalties are $2,000 per employee, bringing potential financial fallout when you multiply that by 50 or 99.

Right now, small businesses with 50 or fewer employees are exempt from this, though ACA changes are still affecting how they run things. All small businesses have taken on different hiring procedures as a result.

How is ADA Affecting Full-Time Employees?

Reports are that all small businesses have begun to cut more full-time employees in favor of part-timers or freelancers. Business owners do this to help cover the costs of having to buy into insurance. Even so, nobody knows if this is a short trend or permanent trend for how small business will hire in the future.

Debates never end about the value of the ACA, yet take a look at a few ways to keep yourself compliant without complications.

Tracking Employee Payroll and Benefits

Many automated employee management systems let you track employee data so you don’t lose sight of what’s occurring with payroll and employment benefits. By keeping track of these, you’ll see whether your employees really work full-time and have eligibility for health insurance.

Plus, you can check if any employer-sponsored health plans are affordable based on what the salary is of every employee. Using an automated system eliminates the numerous hours you’d have to put in to keep track of employee financial data.

Connecting with Your Local Chamber of Commerce

All chambers of commerce work closely with local businesses to help guide them through the biggest regulation challenges. When you link up with yours, you can get some expert guidance on what steps to take to stay compliant with the ACA. They usually have a vast database of resources to expand your networking horizons for gaining the best advice and support.

Of course, if you’re prepared to take providing your employees with coverage with a great group health insurance policy into your own hands, you can request a quote from InsureYourCompany.com today.