Leaders of the largest lobby for small businesses are crying foul over a little-known IRS rule that they say will impose crippling penalties on the employers who can least afford a big fee hike.

The rule is one of many drafted by the IRS in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It would fine companies that do not provide their workers group health coverage, instead offering employees health reimbursement arrangements — tax-free reimbursements to help employees purchase individual insurance policies.

A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that 14 percent of small businesses that do not provide health insurance to their employees instead offer them HRAs.  

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

  • Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.