IRS' Final Employer Shared Responsibility Rules: What Does It Mean To "Offer" Coverage?

Earlier this year, the IRS issued final regulations that provide additional guidance on the employer shared responsibility rules (also called the "pay or play" rules) that will generally apply to employers' group health plans beginning in 2015 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (i.e., the ACA or ObamaCare). Under the ACA, an applicable large employer may be required to pay an employer shared responsibility penalty if it fails to offer affordable, minimum value health coverage to substantially all of its full-time employees and their dependents. Critical to these penalty provisions is the determination of what it means to "offer" coverage. This newsletter describes what it means for an applicable large employer to "offer" compliant coverage to its eligible full-time employees. For more information about other aspects of these final rules, including details about the potential penalties, please refer to our related "Pay or Play Rules"