The Implications of ‘ObamaCare’ for Your Expatriate Workforce

We’ve all heard a lot about the United States healthcare reforms under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as ‘ObamaCare’, and its effect on the US domestic health insurance market. However are you aware of the implications of the reforms for your expatriate workforce?

Expatriates, whether inbound or outbound from the United States, enrolled onto a United States company payroll, are subject to the same regulatory requirements as United States nationals, including, but not limited to:

• a locally admitted policy
• cover limits meeting minimum essential cover (MEC)

As legislation and administration of the regulation evolves, the risks of non-compliant cover extend to include employee and employer fines.

This represents a clear area of additional risk for any business with operations in the United States.

Many employers of expatriate workforces are unaware of how this legislation extends to United States nationals working overseas. Whilst the cover does not need to meet with all the rules defined under the PPACA, nationals working abroad are still required to be in receipt of a policy that:

• meets with minimum value and affordability standards
• provides cover for dependents up to the age of 26 years
• meets with the relevant requirements fulfilling both the employer and individual mandates
• provides necessary evidence for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and MEC reporting for applicable employees

The requirement to comply will be staggered, but any business with more than 50 employees in the United States – both nationals and expatriates – should ensure that their expatriate health insurance policies are compliant and reported appropriately.