Home Care Owner FAQs
We've brought together a team of educators and home care experts to answer the burning questions that you and every home care owner will ask at some point.
Jeff Wiberg President of the Home Care Association of America board and CEO of Family Resource Home Care
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Debbie Miller Former pharma sales rep who built a $10M home care company and founded 52 Weeks Marketing
Debbie Miller Former pharma sales rep who built a $10M home care company and founded 52 Weeks Marketing
Brett Ringold Vice President of A Long-Term Companion
Mark Johnson EA specializing in home care agencies
Jason Chagnon CEO of Home Care Marketing Pros; digital marketing consultant to senior care businesses
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Becki Harrington-Davis Senior Content Marketing Manager at CareAcademy
Sabrina Sattler Account Executive at Careswitch, home care agency advisor specializing in startup success and longevity
Ilya Vakhutinsky Careswitch CEO, home health aide's son, Forbes 30 Under 30, caregiver advocate
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Rachel Gartner Former home care recruiter who was so successful that she founded her own recruitment firm (Carework)
Gregg Mazza Founded a home care agency, almost ran out of capital after two years, figured things out and scaled past $5M
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Jennifer Ramos Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
Jennifer Ramos Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
Brett Ringold Vice President of A Long-Term Companion
Erica Horner Home care sales consultant & project manager at corecubed
Erica Horner Home care sales consultant & project manager at corecubed
Brett Ringold Vice President of A Long-Term Companion
Jennifer Ramos Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
Angelo Spinola Home health, home care and hospice chair at Polsinelli
Jennifer Ramos Managed and sold three different home care agencies; CEO of JR3 Consulting
Adam Corcoran Director of Business Development at Golden Care, owner of Home Care Flyers, helped build a multimillion dollar agency from the ground up
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Greg Coopman President at SeniorCareCX
Miriam Allred Head of Partnerships @Careswitch, former host of Vision: The Home Care Leaders Podcast
Brian Cottone Jr. Benefits expert at VItable Health
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Jeremy Fuller Managing Director of Grow Home Care Marketing; website, SEO, and digital marketing expert
Julio Briones Home care consultant specializing in helping 7-figure home care agencies grow
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
Connor Kunz VP @Careswitch, former head of education @ Home Care Pulse, scaled a service business 7 figures in 3 years
When does my home care agency legally have to provide employees with healthcare benefits?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a comprehensive healthcare reform law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2010 and has the primary goal of providing access to affordable healthcare to all Americans.
The ACA requires all employers with more than 50 full-time employees to offer health insurance coverage to their employees or pay a penalty.
A common pitfall for home care agencies, in staying compliant with ACA, is the misclassification of their employees. In home care, it’s not uncommon to have employees including:
- Full-time employees (work on average 30 hrs. per week or 130-hours per calendar month)
- Part-time employees
- Full-time equivalent employees (work part-time hours that are equivalent to a full-time employee)
- Seasonal employees
- Seasonal employees (temporary)
- Independent contractors (1099)
(Information about 1099 contractors here.)
To accurately calculate how many Full-Time Employees (FTEs) you have, use the following formula:
Total Hours Worked During a Year (Part-Time & Full-Time) / Number of Available FT Hours in a Year (2,080) = Full-Time Equivalent
*It is important to note that the calculation for FTEs can be complex and employers should consult with their tax advisor or qualified ACA specialist to ensure accurate compliance.
Things to consider or ask about when meeting with your advisor:
Within ACA, an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) is an employer with an average of at least 50 full-time employees (FTEs). An ALE may be a single entity (single-office home care agency) or may consist of a group of related entities (multi-location home care agency). If there is a group of related entities, these are referred to as ALE members.
Under the employer shared responsibility requirements include an employer mandate―pay or play. Both provisions, A and B, have penalty implications for employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (large employers).
Part A: Affordable Coverage requires that the total employee contribution may not exceed 9.12% of the employee’s annual income.
Part B: The Minimum Value component requires employers to offer health care that includes physician and preventative care services.
What are the penalties?
Part A: $2,880/employee penalty will be assessed if the employer fails to offer Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) to at least 95% of their employees and their dependents, and any full-time employees that obtains coverage through the marketplace. (The 4980H(a) penalty is issued for every full-time employee minus the first 30.)
Part B: $4,320/employee will be assessed if a premium tax credit will be incurred if the employer-sponsored coverage is unaffordable or does not provide minimum value, and if one or more full-time employees receives subsidized coverage through the marketplace. (The 4980H(b) penalty is issued if one or more full-time employees received a premium tax credit.)
The ACA’s look-back method: employee’s hours of service are tracked and measured during a predefined period to calculate the average hours they worked per week during that time frame. The predefined period is known as the “measurement period” or ACA look back period. If the employee’s average hours per week are 30 or higher, that employee is considered full-time for purposes of the ACA (regardless of HR full-time or part-time status.)
Reach out to Brian directly if you have questions or want to learn more about Vitable: brian@vitablehealth.com