The Affordable Care Act can feel like an axe hanging over your business. Will you need to lay off employees? What will it cost to keep the employees you have? What can you afford to pay to keep all of your employees? Can you afford not to keep all of your employees? Many Americans are relying on hype to answer these questions, but no matter whose hype you believe, hype never really gives you the answers.
Timeline for Affordable Care Act
Let’s see if we can break through the hype by tapping CNBC’s Dan Mangan’s February 2014 report on the state of business delays:
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If you have fewer than 50 full-time employees (working 30 hours or more per week), then your business is totally exempt from the health insurance mandate.
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If you have between 50 and 100 full-time employees, then the health insurance mandate is delayed until 2016.
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If you have 100 or more full-time employees, then the mandate goes into partial effect in 2015, which means you must offer affordable coverage to 70% of your full-time workers to avoid penalties, and goes into full effect in 2016, when you need to offer coverage to 95% of full-time employees.
But What Does "Affordable" Mean?
This helps, of course, but it still doesn’t tell you what you need to know. Unfortunately, it’s not yet clear what terms like “affordable coverage” really mean, nor is it clear how much this affordable coverage will cost you per employee. This is where accounting comes in to save the day.
The benefits of outsourced accounting services can make a big difference for your business. When professionals maintain your accounts, they also produce a variety of reports that provide vital information for business decisions. A provider with an array of accounting services can help you choose the reports you need and can help make sure you understand the data you’re seeing.
Questions to Consider for Healthcare and Employee Costs
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What is the current cost of your employees?
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How do current revenues compare to current expenses?
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What portion of your expenses pays for your employees?
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How much more can you afford to pay per employee in order to retain your revenue-generating capacity?
The answers to these questions are hidden in your accounting records. If you use an accounting service that provides an array of financial reports, you will have the data you need to make informed business decisions. This is the power of business intelligence: making the best decision possible for your business. Don’t let the Affordable Care Act give your valuable employees the axe. Cut through the hype by relying on the numbers to answer the pressing questions that are weighing on your business.
If you need help analyzing your financial data to understand how the upcoming changes to healthcare may affect your company's bottomline, our professional controllers can help provide insight to support your decisions. Schedule a free consultation to help make the most out of your financial data.
