| Affordable group benefit programs:
Health Plans, Dental Plans, Term Life Insurance, Disability Income Protection, Cafeteria Plans, 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plans, Long-Term Care Insurance |
| MA NEW ‘FAIR SHARE’ REGULATIONS RELEASED |
| The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (HCFP) announced today that it has adopted revised Employer Fair Share regulations that require employers to make a fair and reasonable contribution toward their employees’ health insurance coverage or pay a fee to the state. |
| Under Massachusetts’ 2006 landmark health care reform initiative, employers who did not make a "fair and reasonable" premium contribution to employer-sponsored insurance were liable for a $295 annual fee per employee. The original regulations exempted employers who either (1) had at least 25% of their full-time employees enrolled the employer’s group health plan, or (2) offered to contribute at least 33% toward the premium cost for a group health plan for full-time employees that had worked at least 90 days. |
| Companies with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees will be required to meet both tests. If however, a company fails both tests, a final test has been created - a company that has 75% of its eligible full-time employees enrolled in its will be exempt from the fair share contribution penalty. |
| For businesses with 50 or fewer employees there will be essentially no change in the regulations. |
| The revised regulations -- which take effect on January 1, 2009 to allow businesses additional time to prepare. |
| Unfortunately, small business owners will still be required to file quarterly rather than annually - additional paperwork that will be both costly and burdensome for those small companies. |