USA: Ensuring Proper Coverage for Expats

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as ObamaCare, has been a far-reaching reform of the United States health care system. The Act was originally intended to enable universal healthcare access to all Americans, but has also caused problems for foreign employees living and working in the U.S.

The ACA requires that foreign employees living within the United States also be covered by the same coverages that Americans are now required to have. While most foreign employees were previously adequately covered by the social insurance provided by their foreign employers, a large majority of these coverages no longer provide the full range of benefits required by ObamaCare. Workers that do not have adequate coverage under the ACA will be liable to pay a penalty each year for non-compliance. In 2016, the penalty was a minimum of $695 for a single person and $2085 for a family. The penalty amount will continue to increase each year and can reach up to 2.5% of annual income.

The Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) lays down the regulations and eligibility criteria for employees living and working in the United States. The MEC is further complicated by the fact that each individual state has additional rules and regulations regarding health care compliance. Due to the complicated nature of these laws and the fact that many foreign provided insurance options are unable to provide ObamaCare compliant policies, providing foreign employees in the United States with a local U.S. policy is currently the best solution to ensure proper compliance.

Thanks to our large network of partners located in 56 countries around the world, Asinta is proud to be able to help overcome such complicated issues by ensuring that expatriate employees get the best local policies at the best prices.

Please click here to view the original article on GEREP’s website, Asinta’s partner in France.

For more information on ensuring proper compliance for workers living in the United States, please contact Asinta’s partner in the USA, Alliant.