Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a number of questions and issues about the law still remain to be answered and confronted.
Employers must now face the insurance and HR compliance requirements the law's provisions mandate. Regardless of their preference concerning the decision, employers are likely to be pleased with the way it ends uncertainties that surrounded the law since the court began considering it. While the decision was important, experts have indicated that there are some things it did not change, Human Resource Executive Online reports.
"Long-term, employers are going to need a healthcare strategy that reduces costs and improves employee health," insurance executive J.D. Piro says. "That was not part of the decision; employers have to put that into place on their own. They need to determine how to truly get costs under control. Compliance [with] the ACA makes the trains run on time, but strategy tells you where you are going."
Plan Sponsor reports that a survey in the immediate aftermath of the ruling found that the majority had been waiting for the ruling before they developed a strategy to comply with provisions that will go into effect in 2014 and the years following. While that is more than a year away, the law's effects are so sweeping that it may be necessary to begin at once in order to meet the compliance challenge. Some changes may be stalled by the need for guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies.
The changes the PPACA brings
Among the approaching implementation challenges are the need to provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), changes to dollar limits on flexible spending accounts, the need for all employers of qualifying size to provide coverage or pay penalties and more. Insurance plans are expected to see more enrollees. The ruling also ensures the continuation of the provision extending dependent coverage to adult children up to the age of 26, keeping them in employee benefit plans.
The advent of healthcare exchanges may have a substantial impact on those businesses able to participate. One expert told HREO that employers may find themselves in a particularly difficult position if they postponed action until the ruling, rather than making preparations in advance. In either case, professional assistance might be helpful.
