Does Your Firm Have A Self-Insured Health Plan? If so, you are subject to new federal reporting requirements beginning January 1, 2015.

To our Clients and Friends,

Like most companies, Architecture and Engineering (A&E) firms need a full understanding of how the Affordable Care Act will impact their business so they can accurately budget and plan. Following is a brief update on self-insured plans and the changes that will take place beginning January 1. Firms who sponsor their own insurance plans are considered to be “self-insured”, since they act as both insurer and employer. Such firms will be impacted by Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting requirements on a larger scale than firms who are not self-insured.

A&E firms that are self-insured, regardless of their size or number of employees, will be required to file Form 1095-B in February 2015. This form discloses the name, address and social security number of all individuals (employees, spouses, dependents and others) who are covered under an employers’ medical plan, as well as the number of months that coverage applied.

A self-insured A&E firm with at least 100 full-time employees (50 beginning next year) is considered to be an “Applicable Large Employer”. Such firms must also file Form 1095-C, which discloses much more extensive information about employee insurance coverage. In this situation, both Form 1095-B and C information can be combined onto one Form 1095-C, along with Transmittal Form 1094-C.

Many self-insured A&E firms engage insurance companies to manage administrative tasks such as claims processing. Such firms should contact their outside vendor to coordinate the process of gathering data and preparing/filing the requisite forms.

ACA rules and reporting requirements are complex. We are committed to the A&E community, and are here to help with any business challenges that you may face when dealing with these new requirements. Please contact your Anchin Relationship Partner or Phillip Ross, Practice Leader of Anchin’s Architecture and Engineering Industry Group at 212.840.3456 to further discuss these new requirements and how they could affect your firm’s performance.