Q.- We offer health coverage to our employees, but some employees do not return the form indicating that they “waived” coverage. Does ACA require us to get a written waiver of coverage? What if we use electronic enrollment, but the employee doesn’t elect Medical and then does not complete the enrollment process?
A.- The Affordable Care Act does not require an employer to get a written “waiver” signed by an employee who declines health coverage. Getting a waiver is good practice, and an employer should certainly have proof that it offered coverage to the employee. If an employee is offered coverage and waives that coverage, the employer may not be subject to a shared responsibility payment and the employee will not be eligible for premium tax credits to purchase coverage through the Marketplace.
If the employer offers an opt-out payment for waiving coverage, documentation of the coverage declination and proof of other coverage is desirable so the opt-out payment is not factored into the affordability calculation. Please refer to our newsletter article on the subject which can be found here.
