Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a federal law that, among other things, requires large employers, including SFA, to offer medical insurance to certain qualified employees and their dependent children.

According to the ACA, medical insurance offered to full-time employees by an employer must meet minimum essential coverage, meet minimum value, and be affordable.

For some employers, the requirements to offer medical insurance go into effect January 1, 2015. For SFA, however, the requirements go into effect September 1, 2015.

The ACA will not impact benefit-eligible faculty and staff currently enrolled in SFA's medical insurance because the university's insurance plan, which is provided through the Texas Employee Group Benefit Program and administered by the Employees Retirement System of Texas, exceeds the coverage requirements mandated by the ACA. The ERS Affordable Care Act FAQ contains additional information regarding the impact of the ACA on the university's medical insurance plan.

SFA is presently reviewing existing policies to identify potential areas that need to be modified to comply with the ACA. Although ACA-related employment issues are being examined, no institutional policy compliance changes have been made at this time.

The Health Insurance Marketplace Program is for people who do not have affordable employer-based insurance, insurance enrollment in another plan (such as through a spouse or parent), or whose insurance does not meet the minimum value standard of the ACA.

Employees who do not have medical insurance or waived coverage through the university's insurance plan can decide whether they need to sign up through the exchange. For more information about the Health Insurance Marketplace, please refer to the Health Insurance Marketplace Notice or visit HealthCare.gov.

If you have any questions relevant to SFA's compliance with the ACA, please e-mail ACA@sfasu.edu. The FAQs section of this website will be updated as additional questions relevant to SFA's compliance with the ACA are received.