The pandemic has made everyone acutely aware of the need for health coverage. Small businesses struggling to survive are challenged to find ways to offer health coverage as a fringe benefit to employees. Premium costs are high.
Nonetheless, there are several ways in which small employers can help employees get coverage for the upcoming year.
5 Things to Know About Healthcare Coverage in 2021
Don’t wait until the last minute to explore your options. Here are 5 things to keep in mind.
1. Coverage Requirements for ALEs
If you have at least 50 full-time and full-time equivalent employees, you are an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) subject to the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. This means you must offer minimum essential health coverage that’s affordable to your full-time employees or pay a penalty. What’s affordable? The IRS has released this information for 2021. The cost to employees can’t be more than 9.83% of household income in 2021.
2. HSAs
Health savings accounts (HSAs) allow individuals to cover their out-of-pocket costs. But to make contributions—whether by employers or employees—to such accounts, individuals must be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). For 2021, this means insurance with a minimum deductible of $1,400 for self-only coverage or $2,800 for family coverage and a cap on out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts other than premiums) not exceeding $7,000 for self-only coverage or $14,000 for family coverage.
If you have group insurance that is an HDHP, then you can decide whether to contribute to employees’ HSAs. If not, then employees can choose to make deductible contributions to their accounts for 2021. More information about HSAs is in IRS Publication 969.
3. HRA Options
Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) facilitate tax-free reimbursements to employees. While the business can deduct these reimbursements, they aren’t subject to employment taxes. For 2021, consider these HRA options:
- Qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSEHRAs). These plans reimburse employees for premiums on their individually-obtained coverage up to a set dollar limit ($5,250 for self-only coverage or $10,600 for family coverage in 2020).
- Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs). These plans also reimburse employees for their premiums on individually-obtained health coverage. The law doesn’t cap the reimbursement; it’s up to the employer to fix this amount (on a nondiscriminatory basis).
- Excepted benefit health reimbursement arrangements (EBHRAs). These plans help pay for certain benefits, such as dental or vision care, not otherwise covered by a general insurance policy. Reimbursement is capped up to a set dollar amount. The cap for 2021 has not yet been announced (it was $1,800 for 2020).
More information about HRAs is also in IRS Publication 969.
4. Premium-only Cafeteria Plans
If you don’t provide any health insurance plan or do have a plan (including an HRA) but you don’t pay all of the cost, you can enable employees to pay all or the balance of premiums on a pre-tax basis. The plan must offer employees a choice between cash or reimbursement for health insurance coverage. If they choose the coverage, the amount of what they’d pay for premiums that’s withheld from their paycheck is not treated as taxable compensation to them. There are no employment taxes on this benefit. If, however, they choose the cash option, it’s taxable compensation.
5. Notice Requirements
Employers offering health coverage are required to give notice to employees about their participation and what’s involved. Depending on the plan, notice may include providing a summary plan document.
Generally, notice is required to be given 90 days before the start of the plan year. So, if the plan year starts on January 1, 2021, notice must be given by October 3, 2020.
Conclusion
Start shopping now for health insurance. Work with your CPA or other tax advisor to find ways to make this benefit available to employees without busting your budget. And be sure that whichever option you use that you do so in compliance with the law.
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The most important thing to remember is to have some sort of coverage in place.
Individual and family health insurance plans can help cover expenses in the case of serious medical emergencies, and help you and your family stay on top of preventative health-care services.