Here is another example of the unintended consequences of the ACA. Businesses are beginning to get checks back from carriers to distribute to their employees. This sounds great, and in time it will be. But for now it has caused a huge can of worms. The checks are rebates from the carriers for not spending (in these cases) 80% of the money they bring in on health care related items. When the checks are issued they are issued with a statement that says that the money must be distributed, but does not let the employer know the formula to figure out how much goes to each employee. Because these are small businesses with less than 50 employees, the amount that each employee contributes is different. The rates are based, in most cases, on employee age and home zip code. Then factor in some employees add dependents. The cost the dependents is based on the employees age and home zip code as well, plus the cost for the dependents is based on 1) employee plus spouse 2) employee plus children 3) employee plus family.
So when the rebates come in and a company has to figure out how much goes back to each employee it is not as simple as it sounds. To add insult to injury, the check comes with an email address for the Department of Labor that is no longer active. This is another case of the cart before the horse. The carriers were under the gun to get the checks out to their clients or face penalties, but no clear distribution process has been set up.
Will the employers face penalties if they distribute wrong? Maybe, like we have written before, much of the practical aspects of this law have yet to be seen. We at Ansa will continue to work on this until we have a definitive answer for you. If you or your company are faced with any of these types of issues, please write and let us know. You can reach us at info@ansainsuranceservices.com or find us on the web at www.ansainsuranceservices.com . We believe that if we work together we can work through the issues that come up.
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