New Health Benefits Excise Tax Calculator

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Last Tuesday (Oct 13) the Senate Finance Committee passed a health care proposal that included a revenue proposition that would include a "Cadillac Plan" excise tax. The excise tax amounts to 40% of the cost of benefits over certain thresholds and they would be higher for plans covering early retirees and employees in high risk industries, such as mining or law enforcement.

To help calculate the sets are tax on businesses, the Human Resources consulting Findley Davies has developed the ETC (Excise Tax Calculator). This tool projects current costs for an employer to 2013 and beyond (up to 2017) in order to estimate the impact of the Excise Tax on their projected costs. In this way, employers can begin to evaluate and implement strategies to ensure their total costs will fall below the Excise Tax thresholds. With a minimal amount of current information, the tool allows employers' human resource and finance functions to work together to ensure that strategies are in place well before the 2013 deadline.

Obviously, employers will want their plans to be below these thresholds in 2013. But, the components of the cost ($8,000 for Individual coverage, and $21,000 for family coverage) are not limited to medical coverage. They include other benefits as well: dental, vision, HRA and HSA contributions by employers, and FSA deferrals by employees. So, how do employers know if they might have a "Cadillac Plan" today, tomorrow, or in 2013?

For a demonstration of the Findley Davies ETC, please contact Tod Tillman (Charlotte) at 704.944.7515 or Bruce Davis (Toledo) at 419.327.4133.