Is ACA Reporting More Payroll or Benefits Related?

A common question in the marketplace is ‘what exact information is necessary to complete the Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting’, which is required for employers for the first time regarding the 2015 calendar year.  To assist, we have created a list below of the types of data necessary as well as who will likely have that information.  

Many employers and benefit brokers originally made the assumption that ACA reporting would best be performed as an additional function of a company’s payroll provider.  However, now as the time comes to actually perform the reporting they understand that ACA reporting requires much more benefits information than payroll.  

Basic information to the company whom both the Benefit Broker & Payroll provider have
·         Company name, address, contact information and EIN
 
Payroll Information / Payroll Provider
·         Number of part time and full time employees
·         Payroll employee names, SSN, address, hire and termination dates
 
Benefits Information / Benefits Provider
·         Is this your first year offering medical coverage?
·         Renewal dates
·         Type of plan funding structure (fully insured, self insured, multi employer plans)
·         Waiting periods and if there are multiple waiting periods for different employee classes
·         Did your medical plans offer minimum essential coverage?  When?
·         Did your medical plans offer minimum value coverage?  When?
·         Full detailed understanding of 4980H Transitional Relief
·         Medical plan start and end dates
·         Medical plan offerings to various classes of employees, and costs of these plans
·         Eligibility by employee class for Federal Poverty Line safe harbor
·         Eligibility by employee class for Rate of Pay Safe Harbor
·         Eligibility by employee class for W2 safe harbor
·         Medical plan employee contributions by month and class
·         Plan offering Criteria, Qualifying offer Method, Qualifying offer Method with Transitional Relief, 98% offer method
·         Was an HRA offered?  Was it integrated with medical plan enrollment?
·         Certifications of unchanging workforce size for plan purposes as well as consistent employer contributions.
·         Months Offering MEC coverage to 70% of FT Employees
·         Full information on employees including name, SSN, DOB and address
·         Full information on dependents of employees including name, SSN, DOB and address
·         Medical plan coverage start and end dates for all persons on the medical plan
·         Medical plan offering details including start and end dates by employee class
·         Designated governmental entity information
·         Aggregated group information, and full details on control groups