Capitol Benefits Group News & Updates
Business Record’s Women of Influence Awards Ceremony
Marcie and Tracy attended the August 4th Business Record’s Women of Influence awards ceremony (pictured here with business partner, Wendi Fredrigill of In2It Digital—a local agency that provides heartfelt marketing and design for service-based leaders and companies).
The Business Record's Women of Influence awards celebrate the work of women who have made a difference. They've devoted their lives to doing things most wouldn't. They've spent countless hours on various boards and they've blazed a trail either personally or professionally for other women to follow.
Join us in congratulating the inspiring award winners this year with special acknowledgment to Capitol Benefits Group’s client, Jessica Dunker—President & CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association/Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association. A heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to Jessica!
Reminder: New Client Portal
As a reminder, Capitol Benefits Group migrated all group clients over to the new Client Portal site on July 26th, 2022.
The Client Portal is your go-to online resource to find the HR content and resources you need related to: benefits compliance, health care reform, wellness, employee benefits and secure company newsletter content.
The Client Portal is also your gateway to interact with your HR Hotline team and deploy online employee trainings using the robust Learning Management System (LMS) tool.
Please refer to the attached Client Portal flyer (here) and reach out to the Partner Support team directly with any login navigation issues!
ACA Affordability Percentage Decreased Significantly for 2023
One of the most well-known components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that it requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to either offer affordable, minimum value medical benefits to their full-time employees or pay tax penalties. The ACA defined a plan as being affordable if the lowest-cost, employee-only option costs less than 9.5% of the employee’s household income. However, the percentage of income for this purpose is adjusted annually for inflation. Recent guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decreases the affordability percentage significantly from 9.61% for 2022 to 9.12% for 2023.
Thus, for plan years beginning in 2023, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage under the lowest-cost available plan does not exceed 9.12% of the full-time employee’s income.
The 2023 affordability percentage is the lowest that the IRS has released since the ACA’s inception. Most notably, it even falls below the statutory 9.5% affordability threshold upon which the annual inflation adjustments are based. This significant affordability percentage decrease for 2023 means that many employers will need to increase the amount that they contribute towards employee coverage to continue to meet the affordability standard. To avoid penalty exposure, ALEs should carefully analyze affordability in advance of open enrollment for their 2023 plan year.
DOL Releases New Model Employer CHIP Notice
The Department of Labor (DOL) has released a new model Employer CHIP Notice with information current as of July 31, 2022. As a reminder, employers with group health plans that cover participants in states that provide premium assistance subsidies through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are required to notify their employees annually, regardless of the employer’s location.
You can read more here.
Pay or Play Penalties Increase for 2023
The IRS released the adjusted pay or play penalty amounts for 2023 under the Affordable Care Act. For calendar year 2023, the adjusted $2,000 penalty amount is $2,880 and the adjusted $3,000 penalty amount is $4,320.
You can learn more here.
The content herein is provided for general information purposes only, and does not constitute, legal, tax, or other advice or opinions on any matters. This information has been taken from sources which we believe to be reliable, but there is no guarantee as to its accuracy.
Webinar Archive
This webinar will provide an overview of the results from Zywave’s 2022 Attraction and Retention Employer Pulse Survey and discuss how employers need to address their talent challenges. Attendees can expect to learn about the current labor market, workplace strategies and emerging trends.
Watch Last Month’s Webinar HERE