2016 ACA Appliance
2016 ACA Appliance
It may only be October, but November 1st starts open enrollment for a 2016 health care plan under the ACA, and you only have until January 31st before the enrollment period ends. If you want to get enrolled in a health care plan, you either need to be registered by January 31st or have some form of exception that extends the time you have to enroll, which we will talk about further into this article. If you are a business owner, it is recommended that you make this information easily accessible for your employees, either through a newsletter or through a physical medium such as memos or at an office meeting. If you have your own health care plan they can enroll in, rather through yourself or set up by a company such as Vision H.R. make sure they know how to get enrolled in it.
When it comes to enrollment, the earlier the better. The sooner you get enrolled, the sooner your coverage will take effect. If you wait until the last minute, you may find your health care plan not taking effect until March 1, 2016. To learn the important dates associated with early enrollment, see below.
November 1st: Open Enrollment Begins.
December 15th: Last day to enroll in a health care plan to have it begin by January 1st.
January 1st: Coverage for people who enrolled by December 15th begins.
January 15th: Last day to enroll if you want your plan to take effect on Feb 1st.
January 31st: Last day for enrollment.
February 1st: Coverage begins for People who enrolled between December 16th and January 15th.
March 1st: Anyone who applied after January 15th has their coverage start today.
(It should be noted that insurance programs such as Medicaid, CHIP, and SHOP have no limited enrollment period)
There are some exceptions that will let you enroll after the cut-off date. These can include marriage, having a child, or losing another form of coverage. If you fail to enroll within the deadline, and don’t meet one of the special exceptions, the fine for not having a health care plan in 2016 is expected to be more than the one in 2015. In 2014, the fine was $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, up to $285 for a family, or 1% of your household. In 2015, it is going up to $325 per adult, $162.50 per child, to a maximum of $975 or 2% of your yearly household income, depending on which is higher.
If you have questions on a workplace based healthcare plan, or about the fees associated with not having a healthcare plan in effect, Vision H.R. have experts waiting to assist. Vision H.R. can answer your questions, help set up a company healthcare plan, and show you how to relay the information to your employees. For a free quote, or for more information, visit us at VisionHR.com.
