What Employers Must Offer Employees Working Over 30 Hours Per Week

Introduction:
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly changed the health insurance landscape in the United States, especially for individuals who get their insurance through their employers. If you work for a company with more than 50 full-time employees, you are entitled to specific health insurance benefits under the ACA. In this blog, we will explore what the ACA requires employers to offer their employees who work over 30 hours per week.

Covered Employers
The ACA’s employer mandate applies to businesses with 50 or more full-time employees (or their full-time equivalent) in the previous calendar year. This includes all employees, regardless of their status as part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent.

Required Coverage
Under the ACA, employers with 50 or more full-time employees are required to offer health insurance to their employees who work an average of 30 hours or more per week. The coverage must meet certain minimum standards, including:

Essential Health Benefits: Coverage must include a minimum set of essential health benefits, such as hospitalization, primary care, preventive services, and prescription drugs.
Affordability: Employers must contribute to the cost of employee premiums, ensuring that coverage is affordable for most employees.
Minimum Value: The coverage must provide a minimum level of value to employees, based on the cost of the plan.

Consequences of Non-Compliance
If an employer fails to offer health insurance to employees working over 30 hours per week, or if the coverage offered does not meet the ACA requirements, the employer may face penalties. These penalties include:

Individual Mandate Penalty: Employees may be required to pay a penalty if they do not have health insurance, and their employer is required to offer it.
Employer Mandate Penalty: Employers may face fines if they fail to offer health insurance or offer inadequate coverage.

Case Example:
The post we discussed at the beginning highlights a situation where an employer is not offering health insurance to an employee who will be working over 30 hours per week. Under the ACA, this employer is required to offer health insurance to this employee. If the employer fails to do so, the employee may be eligible for the individual mandate penalty. Additionally, the employer may face penalties for non-compliance with the ACA’s employer mandate.

Conclusion:
If you work for a company with 50 or more full-time employees and work an average of 30 hours or more per week, you are entitled to health insurance coverage under the ACA. Employers are required to offer affordable, minimum-value coverage that includes essential health benefits. If your employer is not offering you health insurance or the coverage they offer does not meet the ACA requirements, you should contact a licensed health insurance agent to explore your options.