Notice of Exchange Must Be Distributed to All Employees

The Affordable Care Act requires all employers to provide their employees a notice about the upcoming health insurance exchanges. This notice must be provided by March 1, 2013.

The Exchange Notice is intended to explain the benefits of health plans offered through state Exchanges and explain what happens if an employee purchases health coverage through an Exchange instead of electing employer-sponsored health coverage. Specifically, the Notice must describe:

• The employee's local state Exchange, including a description of services provided by the Exchange;
• Contact information for the Exchange;
• The availability of premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions for purchasing coverage through an Exchange if employer coverage does not provide minimum value; and
• If coverage is purchased through an Exchange, the employee might lose an employer contribution toward the cost of coverage and some of that contribution might be excluded from federal income tax.

The Notice must be provided to each employee by March 1, 2013, regardless of the plan year. After March 1, 2013, all future employee must receive the Notice at their date of hire. All employers who are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (which is almost all employers) must provide notice to employees.

It is possible that the federal government will release a format document to satisfy the Notice rules.

For more information about the notification responsibilities or for help with distributing the Notice to employees, contact sales@BASusa.com.