Reimbursing Employees for Individual Health Insurance Policies Subjects Employers to Hefty Excise Taxes
December 4, 2014
Authored by: Carrie Herrick
What, you may ask? That’s right. It no longer works to reimburse employees for the purchase of an individual health insurance policy. I know, many of you have always done this. Well, not any longer under guidance issued under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Beginning with an IRS Notice issued in September 2013 and most recently in November 2014 DOL FAQs, the federal government has made it clear that this practice does not work under the ACA. While it flew under the radar for some, this rule became effective in 2014.
Why, you may ask? When an employer reimburses an employee for an individual health insurance premium, or pays the premium directly to the insurer, it has (perhaps inadvertently) established a “group health plan” which is subject to the so-called Public Health Service Act mandates of ACA.