It Takes a Village to Raise a Child and Comply with ACA
Lyndsey Barnett
Prior to February, I never really understood the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child.” Then I gave birth to my first child and now that phrase hits home. While I never expected to compare raising a child to complying with a massive piece of legislation, in the case of the Affordable Care Act, I think it is comparable.
Over the past several years, I have sat down with clients that fully believed their plans were ACA compliant or that they didn’t have that much work to avoid the pay or play penalties. Inevitably, as the meeting progressed, they quickly realized that they couldn’t tackle planning for the massive law all on their own or even with the help of their often under-staffed benefits department. It really does take a village…or at least a strong team…to ensure your health plans are complying with all of the new mandates, disclosures, fees, etc.
If you haven’t yet gathered your team, I recommend that you begin doing so as soon as possible as 2015 and the employer pay or play penalties will be here before you know it. Please don’t assume your insurance carrier is handling it all for you. Your consultants, brokers, payroll providers, and, of course, your benefits attorney should all be able to provide you with different expertise and strategies.
Prior to February, I never really understood the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child.” Then I gave birth to my first child and now that phrase hits home. While I never expected to compare raising a child to complying with a massive piece of legislation, in the case of the Affordable Care Act, I think it is comparable.
Over the past several years, I have sat down with clients that fully believed their plans were ACA compliant or that they didn’t have that much work to avoid the pay or play penalties. Inevitably, as the meeting progressed, they quickly realized that they couldn’t tackle planning for the massive law all on their own or even with the help of their often under-staffed benefits department. It really does take a village…or at least a strong team…to ensure your health plans are complying with all of the new mandates, disclosures, fees, etc.
If you haven’t yet gathered your team, I recommend that you begin doing so as soon as possible as 2015 and the employer pay or play penalties will be here before you know it. Please don’t assume your insurance carrier is handling it all for you. Your consultants, brokers, payroll providers, and, of course, your benefits attorney should all be able to provide you with different expertise and strategies.
