Blog - Beckham Insurance Group

Do Part-Time Employees Get Benefits?

If you hire part-time employees to supplement your full-time staffers, you may be wondering whether you need to offer them health insurance. While the Affordable Care Act includes part-time workers into their calculation for whether companies are required to offer health insurance to their employees, it doesn’t mandate that these employees be offered such insurance.

Answering whether part-time employees get benefits or not isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Below, we’ll dive deeper into some of the factors that go into it, as well as how your company can stand out among the competition when it comes to attracting part-time employees.

Qualifying Events for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance

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Every year, there is an open enrollment period where employees are able to sign up or renew their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. During this period, employees have the right to switch plans — if the employer offers multiple choices — or sign up for a plan if they haven’t had one before.

Once this open enrollment period ends, under most circumstances, employees can no longer sign up for health insurance or make changes to their plan. In order to qualify for a plan outside of this period, employees must have what’s known as a qualifying event.

When Does an Employer Have to Offer Health Insurance?

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A lot of changes in health insurance were made when the Affordable Care Act went into effect in March of 2020. One of the major changes was a mandate that certain employers had to offer their employees health insurance coverage, otherwise they could face stiff penalties.

If your company fits within certain limits, you will be subject to the mandates in the ACA. If your company does not, you don’t have to offer health insurance to your employees, but the ACA does offer a program for you to make it more affordable.

What Are Supplemental Benefits?

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The health insurance landscape has experienced massive changes in recent years. As health care costs have increased, so, too, have the costs of providing health coverage to people all around the country. Many insurance companies have passed on those increased costs to those they insure so that premiums remain reasonably affordable. As a result, high-deductible health plans that used to be few and far between are quickly becoming the standard.

Because of this, people have had to shoulder a much more significant financial burden for their healthcare; this has led to the rising popularity of supplemental benefits, which can help you pay for medical costs not covered by your primary health insurance.

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What Are the FSA Limits for 2023?

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With costs rising yearly, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for everyday people to pay for their annual medical expenses. In addition to increasing health insurance premiums, the costs for the actual medical expenses that people are forced to pay out of pocket are also growing. To help offset some of these costs, the IRS has created multiple savings accounts that allow people to set aside money on a tax-free basis to help them pay their medical expenses. One of the most popular plan types is a Flexible Spending Account or FSA.

The IRS annually sets contribution limits for FSAs and other tax-advantaged medical savings accounts. Below, we’ll explain FSAs, how they can be used, and the IRS limits for 2023.

Your Guide to 2023 HSA Eligibility Requirements

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In recent years, the IRS has made available tax-advantaged savings accounts specifically designed to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. With healthcare costs rising across the country—and with high-deductible health plans becoming the norm increasingly—the federal government has been trying to encourage people to set money aside to pay for medical costs.

One of those accounts is called a Health Savings Account, or HSA. People with these accounts can contribute to them using pre-tax dollars, which lowers their overall medical costs and has the side benefit of reducing their taxable income.

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Your Guide to Health Insurance Captives and Consortiums

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Health insurance costs are rising yearly, creating significant challenges for individuals and employers who provide health coverage to their workers. With no control over where health insurance costs will go in the future, employers are turning to alternative options to keep these expenses lower.

Two major alternative options today are health insurance captives and consortiums. These plans provide new ways employers can fund their health insurance plans to help offset high costs. Let’s learn about these two alternatives below.

Files sitting on a table for ACA IRS reporting

IRS ACA Reporting & What You Need to Know

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The Affordable Care Act first went into effect in 2010. Five years later, the Employer Mandate—known officially as the Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions, or ESRPs—took effect. In essence, the Employer Mandate is a list of provisions that large employers must abide by regarding offering health insurance to their employees. If they fail to meet these guidelines, they can face hefty taxes and penalties from the IRS.

There are reporting guidelines outlined by the ACA, along with their associated penalties for noncompliance. To learn more, read on for your guide to IRS ACA reporting.

The Best Things to Buy with Your FSA

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The proliferation of high deductible health plans has sharply increased employees’ costs for their health care. In response, the federal government has created multiple tax-advantaged accounts to pay for medical expenses. One such account is called a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). Employees can set up these accounts with their employer, allowing them to pay qualifying out-of-pocket medical expenses in tax-free dollars.

There are many benefits to having an FSA, some of which we’ll describe below. However, knowing some of the best things to buy with an FSA is essential to maximize the benefits. Here’s your guide!

10 Health Insurance Terms You Need to Know

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Health insurance is commonplace among Americans, but how many people understand their coverage? The answer, unfortunately, is probably not many.

Every year, Americans have a choice about what type of health coverage they wish to purchase during open enrollment. However, selecting which plan is best for you can be challenging if you don’t understand essential terms. To help, read on for an explanation of 10 health insurance terms you need to know.