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Source: The Bismarck Tribune, N.存倉D.Sept. 24--BISMARCK, N.D. _ Measures taken to attract employees have many North Dakota companies al-ready prepared for compliance with the new federal Affordable Care Act.Dick Hedahl has offered the same health insurance plan to his 200 em-ployees at Hedahls Auto Plus since about 2001."It was a good plan before the (Affordable Care) act and it's a good plan now," he said. "It's really a benefit to the employees and it's one of things that keeps employees' loyalty."Hedahls' plan met specifications and was grandfathered in."I think the exchanges will be chaos and not a benefit to anybody," Hedahl said. "That's one of the reasons I want to stay out. I don't expect it to be succesful."Hedahls' is a self-insured plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield. The insurance company advises Hedahl on how much to charge his employees. The plan also includes wellness incentives for employees that make healthy living decisions."If everybody is healthy you're going to spend less," Hedahl said.Hedahl said he thinks many businesses haven't figured out how they are going to respond to the new health care law yet."The whole thing is extremely complicated," he said. "Small businesses don't have enough to figure it out."Dale Van Eckhout, senior area manager for the Small Business Administration in Bismarck, said he thinks most companies are getting the answers they need to make a decision about coverage."What I've run into so far seem to have it covered," he said.MDU Resources has done a lot of testing of its health care plan to ensure it meets the law's requirements and will continue to provide insurance to all employees, said Lisa Schlafmann, director of benefits and compensation.Information is available on SBA's website and through Blue Cross Blue Shield. Eide Bailly has been hosting webinars for clients to help them get informed and has created an analytic tool for companies to determine what their health care costs will be under the Affordable Care Act.Partner Ross Manson, who helped develop the analytic tool, said the tool helps employers decide whether it's better to "pay or play." If large companies decide not to offer affordable coverage, they pay a penalty.Manson said most companies in North Dakota meet the affordability standards set forth by the act and offer plans that pay a large enough percentage of expenses."It's the ones with mini-med plans that will have some its unaffordable to," he said.If a company has fewer than 50 full time employees it is not subject to any penalties whether it offers coverage or not, and quite a few companies fall beneath that 50 employee threshold.Manson said service employers like owners of fast food chains, hotels and bars that have multiple locations adding up to more than 50 employees are the most likely not to meet Affordable Care Act requirements.Manson said that if you look at the cost side of paying the fine rather than providing coverage, the fine is often cheaper. However most companies choose to offer coverage as a means of attracting and retaining employees, especially in North Dakota.Manson said how employees are going to react to the public marketplace, whether they find it better to use their employer's coverage or strike out to find coverage on thei迷你倉 own, is yet to be determined because there are still a lot of unknowns about the cost of plans on the exchange."Generally, premiums on the market are going to be pretty favorable and competitive," Manson said.It is that uncertainty that has Marc Taylor, owner of Northern Plains Equipment, worried. Taylor has decided to pay the full cost of insurance for all of his 25 employees.Taylor said times are good now in agricultural equipment sales but it's a cyclical business and he's not sure what he will have to do to keep the company running in the future."Where are we going to end up?" he asked. "When it goes down, that's when things will get serious. When we start to feel the squeeze, that's when the day of reckoning will come."Taylor said his biggest concern is that he has no idea what insurance is going to cost after the law goes into effect."I think the intent (of the law) is good but the consequences will be terrible," he said.Small businessesStarting in 2014, employers with up to the equivalent of 50 full time employees -- those working 30 hours or more -- are not required to offer health insurance to full-time employees and are exempt from any penalties, according to the Small Business Administration website.To encourage those employers to provide insurance, the Affordable Care Act created the Small Business Health Options Program. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees that choose to provide insurance anyway, are eligible for a tax credit to offset the cost.SHOP allows small employers to pool their risk and get a better rate. In 2016, SHOP will be opened up to businesses with up to 100 employees.The small business Health Care Tax Credit is targeted to those employers with low- and moderate-income workers. Businesses that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees, pay average annual wages below $50,000, and that pay at least 50 percent or employees' insurance premiums may qualify for the tax credit.The tax credit will cover up to 35 percent of the costs of insurance. In 2014, it will go up to 50 percent and will be available to qualified small employers that participate in SHOP.Large businessesBusinesses with more than 50 full-time employees will face a penalty for not providing affordable health care to employees starting in 2015.Most large employers already offer health insurance but there are still two provisions that insurance must meet.Under the act, if any employee has to pay more than 9.5 percent of their income to get the coverage offered by their employer, it is deemed unaffordable and the business would be fined.The plan also must pay for at least 60 percent of covered health care expenses.Those companies will be fined $2,000 per year for each full-time employee. The business will receive a credit and not be fined for30 of those employees it does not cover. Every employee over that 30- person threshold not provided coverage will result in a fine.For example, a company with 60 uninsured employees will pay a penalty of $60,000 per year for not providing coverage. The fine could increase each year if premiums increase.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, N.D.) Visit The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, N.D.) at .bismarcktribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉