The US Department of Labor affirmed there would be no fine or penalty for failing to provide the Notice to Employees of Coverage Options, often called the Marketplace Notice or Exchange Notice. However, with all the attention being paid in the media about the onset of “Obamacare,” we recommend that companies distribute this notice, even if you don’t meet the October 1 deadline.
Details about the requirements can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform. This page includes links to PDF and MS Word template, as well as Spanish forms. Essentially, there are two options (PDF links provided below):
- Model Notice for employers who offer a health plan to some or all employees
- Model Notice for employers who do not offer a health plan
For questions related to specific requirements, refer to Technical Release 2013-02 – Guidance on the notice to employees of coverage options.
Anticipating Questions
We have prepared Health Care Reform: Individual Mandate – Ten Q&As for Employees to answer some questions we believe will be commonly asked by employees. You may choose to share this with your employees along with the Model Notice.
NEW HIRE REQUIREMENT
This Notice (whichever version you prepare for your employees) is also required to be provided to all employees hired after October 1, 2013 within 14 days of start date. We recommend you deliver this Notice along with any other documents in your new hire packet.
Be sure to read our other posts on health care reform. As always, your Xenium Benefits Department is here to assist you with your benefits questions and feel free to contact one of our representatives at benefits@xeniumhr.com or (503) 612-1564.
