Question:
Is affordability under the Employer Shared Responsibility mandate based on the lowest cost plan?
Answer:
Yes. According to the final regulations: “In order to avoid a potential assessable payment under section 4980H(b), the coverage offered must be affordable, generally meaning that the employee portion of the self-only premium for the employer’s lowest cost coverage that provides minimum value (MV) does not exceed 9.5 percent of the employee’s household income (as determined under safe harbor rules).”
See more at: http://blog.thinkhr.com/hotline-employer-shared-responsibility-lowest-cost-plan/#sthash.Uqi3gHHM.dpuf
