Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 8

Chairman’
sNote

What You Don’t Know
Could Cost You!

A

t this year’s Multi-Unit Franchising
Conference, an incredible panel of
experts spelled out, in easy-to-understand language, how the Affordable
Care Act will affect multi-unit franchisees. I left
there feeling the most knowledgeable I have ever
felt about the Act, but still unsure of what it all
means to my business. I have been to at least 15
conferences where there was a presentation about
the Act. Yet I still lack confidence when it comes
to administering the plan and
knowing all its eccentricities.
Here’s my premise: I think that
25 percent of all business owners “kind of” know what’s going
on, and 98 percent of employees
have no idea! This was confirmed
the other day when a good friend
called me in a complete panic
about how the Act was going to affect his business,
and quite possibly close his doors. After I talked
him off the cliff, he realized that he wasn’t in as
much trouble as he feared! I also had a conference
call with my managers last week to start the conversation about the upcoming requirements. Their
silence spoke very loudly about their confusion and
lack of understanding about what’s coming.
As a business owner, do you know that you are
currently in the “measurement period?” The number of hours and employees you have right now
will determine whether you must offer a healthcare
plan. Do you have any idea how to measure that
yourself? Do you know how or where you are going to report your measurements? I don’t!
Do you know that if you take the penalty for
not offering insurance that the penalty is not taxdeductible, whereas the premiums paid for your
employees’ healthcare plan are? Your tax situation
may help decide which route you will take!
Do you think your employees know they are re-

6

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue III, 2013

quired to have healthcare coverage in 2014? If you
as an employer do not offer it, they are required to
go to an “exchange” and pay for it themselves. If
employees choose not to purchase a plan, they will
be penalized: $95 the first year, $325 the second
year, increasing every year!
Do any of your employees know what or where
an exchange is? Do you think they know that 24
states have refused to set up an exchange, requiring
the federal government to be the default exchange?
The government did not expect so many states
would refuse to set one up, and it is not ready for
the massive numbers who will need to buy coverage for 2014. Although the government says it will
be ready by the fall, some employees will be required to get health insurance but will have no way
to actually get it!
The government has a lot of work ahead to inform everyone about how and when we report,
where to get coverage, when to get coverage, how
much it’s going to cost, and so many more things!
And on July 2, the Obama administration announced a one-year delay in the employer mandate.
Get ready for mass confusion! In the meantime,
arm yourself with some facts, participate in webinars, attend conferences, and make a plan. A wellthought-out plan is better than no plan at all!
I encourage you to write in and correct any errors I may have made here. I have never claimed
that I know what’s going on! In fact, I would estimate that I understand only about 60 percent of the
Act—but 60 percent is far more than the vast majority of employers and employees out there.

Sean Falk