Employers and group health plan administrators will want to download new model notices released by the U.S. Department of Labor to comply with changes as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
The new model exchange notices must be distributed to employees no later than Oct. 1, according to a bulletin provided to BizTimes by Milwaukee health care benefits consultant Jon Rauser, president of The Rauser Agency Inc.
Employers need to comply with the new requirement to provide employees a written notice with information about a Health Insurance Exchange (Marketplace) beginning this fall. Two separate notices are available from the DOL:
• Model Notice for employers who offer a health plan to some or all employees.
• Model Notice for employers who do not offer a health plan.
Employers are required to provide the written notice to each current employee no later than Oct. 1 and to each new employee at the time of hiring beginning Oct. 1, Rauser said,
Employers must provide the notice automatically and free of charge to each employee, regardless of plan enrollment status or of part-time or full-time status. The notice may be distributed by first-class mail or electronically if certain requirements are met.
