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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Dear Superintendents, Business Managers and Benefit Representatives:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued
<a href="http://op.bna.com/pen.nsf/id/pkun-9g7t6d/$File/2014-03082_PI.pdf"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">final regulations</span></a> implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions
(a.k.a., play-or-pay mandate) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) today. Below are highlights of some of the final regulations you should be aware of.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The employer responsibility provision (i.e., employer is subject to penalties if it doesn’t provide access to medical plans that provide minimum essential coverage):</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Applies only to employers with 100 or more full-time equivalent employees in 2015</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Applies to employers with 50 to 99 full-time equivalent employees in 2016</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in"><span style="font-family:Symbol">·</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Only requires that employers that have 100 or more full-time equivalent employees offer coverage to 70 percent of their full-time employees in 2015</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Prior guidance was that the employer responsibility provision applied to all employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees in 2015. Prior guidance also suggested
that qualified coverage must be made available to at least 95 percent of the employer’s full-time employees (those working 30 or more hours per week), that threshold has been lowered to 70 percent for 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The new guidance also addressed the effective date for the provisions. The requirements for employers with 100 or more full-time equivalent employees will not go into effect
until the start of the OEBB plan year, or October 1, 2015. It is unknown whether the penalties for employers with 50 to 99 full-time equivalent employees will go into effective January 1, 2016, or October 1, 2016.<span style="color:#44546A"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#44546A"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Also, there were some clarifications on how educational employees and adjunct faculty should be handled during the measurement process. Towers Watson is working to prepare
a special Bulletin on whether those clarifications change anything provided in previous Bulletins or informational webinars and presentations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hopefully this is helpful. It will mean that fewer of you will need to worry about compliance starting in October 1, 2015, and those who still need to be ready by then will
be less likely to be below the threshold due to your use of substitutes and temporary (traditionally non-benefit eligible) employees during that first year.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Pristina">Denise L. Hall</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Deputy Administrator</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Oregon Educators Benefit Board</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">1225 Ferry Street SE</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Salem, OR 97301-4281</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(503) 378-5133</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">(503) 378-5832 FAX</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">*****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*****<br>
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