Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on Important Dates for the Individual Mandate

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Zane Benefits

Oct 28, 2013, 10:00 ET

Park City, Utah (PRWEB) October 28, 2013 -- Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on important dates for the individual mandate.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, employees wondering when they need to sign up for health insurance to avoid the individual mandate penalty now have a firm answer. They need to sign up for coverage on or before March 31, 2014.

The deadline was confirmed by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this week -- people who buy coverage at any point during the open enrollment period will not pay a penalty.

Here's a run-down of the key dates for open enrollment, getting coverage, and avoiding the individual mandate penalty:

  • October 1, 2013: Online health insurance exchanges opened for plan shopping and enrollment.
  • December 15, 2013: Last day to enroll in an exchange health plan, for coverage starting on January 1, 2014.
  • January 1, 2014: Earliest coverage date for new qualified health plans.
  • March 31, 2014: Open enrollment for qualified health plans ends.
  • October 15, 2014 - December 7, 2014: Open enrollment period for 2015 coverage.

The individual mandate penalty (aka individual shared responsibility payment) is phased-in over three years. In 2014, the penalty is $95 per person up to a maximum of three times that amount for a family ($285) or 1% of household income if greater. Beginning in 2017, the penalties will be increased by the cost-of-living adjustment.

Click here to read the full article.

About Zane Benefits

Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHealth") for defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about Zane Benefits, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com.

Christina Merhar, Zane Benefits, http://www.zanebenefits.com, 800-391-9209 Ext: 6725, [email protected]