New Tax Form(s) Under ACA

A new form (1095-C) will be arriving to your home address early April, from Northwell Health. The purpose of the form is to show the months in which you and your dependents were offered, or covered by, an employer sponsored health insurance plan. This information is reported to the IRS by your employer (Northwell Health). The 1095-C is for your records. This form states that you were covered (or not covered) under the employer sponsored plan.

To further explain, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) two new mandates were created:

1. Employer to send 1095-C Form to employees - save for your records 
2. Employer to send 1094-C Form to IRS

Note: the two forms contain the same information.

Union 

Employees covered by union multi-employer plans will receive 1095-B Form from the union and a 1095-C Form from Northwell Health.

Changes in the Annual Wellness Pledge Program

Each year the Wellness Pledge Program becomes a bit more robust, offering new options and resources to get you well, and keep you well. 

• The Health Assessment Pledge for You and Your Covered Spouse: As the gateway pledge, this pledge is the most important pledge of all. The health assessment (which is now called the Rally Health Survey on the United Healthcare portal) is a fun and easy way to get information about your health.
  Value and Buy-Up Plan members login to myuhc.com and click on the Rally Health Survey.
  CareConnect Employee Plan members login to access the Rally Health Survey here.
• The Financial Wellness Video Pledge: Designed to keep you in tune with your financial security in the future, this video pledge is currently in redesign and will be available to you mid-May. 
• New Pledge with the Feinstein Institute for Research: Employees now have a new option to gain credit towards the cost of their benefits by participating in clinical research. Pledge here.

Here's What You Can Do Now to Comply:

Schedule one or more preventive care appointments in 2016 prior to October 31, 2016, and you will be rewarded paycheck credits beginning with your first pay cycle in 2017:

1. Complete the Health Survey (this is re
2. Visit with your primary care physician and get a full physical 
3. Visit with your dentist and get an exam and cleaning 
4. Visit with your ophthalmologist for an eye exam 
5. Get screened for breast cancer with a mammography by Imaging
6. Get screened for skin cancer with a full body check by your dermatologist 
7. Get screened for cervical cancer with PAP Smear by your obstetrician/gynecologist
8. Get screened for colorectal cancer with a colonoscopy by Imaging
9. Have your covered spouse (if applicable) complete the Health Survey
10. Participate in the Feinstein GAP Registry

2017 Paycheck Credits for 2016 Pledge Actions
Complete all four pledges by October 31 and you will earn the maximum amount of paycheck credits in 2017 ($1,040). If you complete your pledge in November/December you will still receive the credits they will just be delayed by six to eight weeks, and you will not receive the maximum amount of credits.

If you have completed the pledges you will see the credit in each of your pay statements as follows:

• Semimonthly (paid on the 7th and 22nd of each month - 24 paychecks a year)- $10.83 for each pledge each pay cycle
• Biweekly (paid every other Thursday - 26 paychecks a year) - $10 for each pledge each pay cycle

We are happy to see that you are actively interested in this important program, keeping you in tune with your preventive care routine each year. 

Note: Newly hired employees will receive automatic credit for four Wellness Pledges. They will have six months to comply or their credits will cease.

How to Retrieve Your W-2 Form/Statement from Northwell Health

It's tax time -- and while you are busy gathering your receipts and checking in with your accountant, Northwell Health's payroll team assures you easy access to your W-2 Tax Statement. For the third year in row, Northwell has offered online access to your statement as early as January 15. All you have to do is:

1. Log in to Employee Self Service (use browser, Windows Internet Explorer on a computer, not phone, for best results)
2. Click on "Personal Information" tab
3. Click on the "Self Service" folder
4. Click on the "Payroll and Compensation" folder
5. Under Tax Information you will see "3 more..." click there
6. Then click on "View W-2 and W-2C Forms"
7. Click on "Year End Form"
8. Print, view, save your form

Note: If your 2015 W-2 Statement does not pop up - able to view and print - your popup blocker may be on. If this is the case, go to the top of your page (while still logged in) and click on "Tools". A menu will appear. Click on "Pop Up Blocker" and turn it off. Click on the "Year End Form" again, now you should be able to view, print and save your 2015 W-2 Tax Statement.

Additional Information about Accessing Your Statement
Northwell Health has made your W-2 Tax Statements available to you online since January 2014. While logged in you can view previous statements from years 2013 and 2014. If you opted out for a paper statement in the mail this year, or in previous years, your online version is the only version you will have access to. If you did not opt out for the paper statement - you should have received your 2015 Tax Statement in the mail by now. If you have misplaced your paper statement, simply retrieve your statement through Employee Self Service, as described above. The online version is just as authentic as the paper version.

Note: If you do not have access to a computer and "opted out" for the print/mail-to-home version (or you misplaced the print/mail-to-home version), contact your local site HR office for assistance.

Your Future
While money is on your mind, consider investing in your retirement by increasing your contribution to your 403(b)/401(k) retirement plan by at least one percent right now. Log in to Northwell.edu/myRetirement, select your Account, hit Manage>Contributions. Increasing your number by just one percent every year can really make a difference when it comes to your financially fit future!

New Tax Form

If  you did not have any health insurance coverage in 2015 - for the entire year, or at any point during the year - you will need to submit a 1095-C Form, when filing your 2015 taxes. Your 1095-C Tax Form will arrive in your home mailbox, from Northwell Health, on or around March 31, 2016. If this pertains to you, you will have to wait to file your taxes until you receive the form.

Note: Your W-2 Tax Statement is now available online when you log into Employee Self Service - just click on the Payroll and Compensation tab.