Whether an employer makes the requisite offer of group health plan coverage is critical to the application of the Affordable Care Acts employer shared responsibility rules as reflected in final implementing regulations issued earlier this year (and see here for a useful IRS summary of those rules). The rules are codified in a newly added provision of the Internal Revenue Code, i.e., Code § 4980H. Generally, Code § 4980H imposes penalties or assessable payments where at least one full-time employee qualifies for subsidized coverage from a public exchange, and either:
- An applicable large employer fails to offer to its full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan . . . for any month, or
- An applicable large employer offers to its full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan . . . but that coverage is either unaffordable or fails to provide minimum value.
