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insight on By Tom Groe nfeldt Business Services Health care conundrum Insurance agents, accountants, lawyers field questions about ACA T he Affordable Care Act, often known simply as ObamaCare, will have little impact on employers who already provide health coverage for their workforce. "A lot of employers are already set up with plans that are compliant," says Todd Cleary, a lawyer at Godfrey & Kahn who specializes in employee benefit regulation. "Companies already offering coverage won't have to make any changes." Well, probably not – but because the regulations are in flux, it's best to check with expert consultants like Cleary just to make sure. The regulation has been changing almost daily, even before the midNovember announcement from President Obama that individuals would be allowed to keep existing insurance programs even if they don't match the coverage levels prescribed in the ACA. The best advice is to check with at least one consultant – an insurance agent, an accountant or an attorney. Chris Hanson, at Hanson Benefits in Appleton, says she was recently on a panel about the ACA with a lawyer who was wrong about some impacts of the ACA on local health plans. Pam Branshaw, a partner at Wipfli LLP in Eau Claire, says the Kaiser Family Health Foundation has a website that provides accurate information about ObamaCare in clear language for individuals and employers. Talk radio hosts are not the best source of accurate w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m information, say professionals who have occasionally had to clear up misinformation that clients picked up listening to AM radio. Wipfli also has information for employers on its website, www.wipfli.com/healthcare. Cleary says there are a number of small changes around the edges of health care that employers should be aware of. In September, the IRS issued some new rules around ancillary plans that smaller employers sometimes use to let employees buy insurance or to pay for medical care. Wellness plans also have some new rules effective Jan. 1. Branshaw says she spends a lot of her time educating clients so they can figure out what they need. The firm subscribes to a number of research services to keep up-to-date on the law, she added. The first step with clients is figuring if they have more than 50 full-time employees. Companies on the edge of that number who want to stay below it have to check eligibility rules and maintain average employment under 50 for 2014, Cleary says, so they should start targeting that figure in January. "If they are over 50 employees and offer health insurance, it is business as usual. If they have parttime employees, they need to closely monitor hours and offer insurance to employees who are working more than 30 hours a week," Branshaw says. "The problem is [continued ] » D e c e m b e r 2 013 • Insight | 27