As organizations continue to face challenges complying with the ever-changing Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s requirements, they are looking for ways to alleviate the burden and streamline their compliance efforts. While we can only watch PPACA obligations evolve, there are steps you can take to maximize your business’s compliance, while also securely tracking employee records.

Alleviate the PPACA compliance burden

The PPACA requires all employers to inform existing employees and new hires of their options for health-care coverage—whether these are provided through the organization or an outside party. Organizations with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from providing health care, but larger businesses must meet a number of requirements to comply with the law, including health insurance. Those who fail to comply may be subject to the pay-or-play penalty. If you’re a small business looking for an insurance provider, review your marketplace coverage options and search by state. Research the required reporting for your business and know what information is needed to complete these filings. In doing so, you can relieve some of the back-and-forth communication that could come from noncompliance.

What an HR management system can do for your business

“A growing number of companies, both large and small, depend on hosted software for everything from payroll to package design,” writes Minda Zetlin in an article she contributed to Inc. “For small companies, part of the rationale is that hosted software (or ‘software-as-a-service’) providers usually have more robust data centers, better in-house expertise, and tighter security than their customers do. But when you hand your company’s sensitive data to an outsourcer, you’re still legally responsible for keeping it compliant with government regulations and legal agreements.” While this is a concern for many organizations, there is a solution—and it rests on your partner’s security measures.

Zetlin continues: “The Statement on Auditing Standards Number 70 from the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has become something of a standard for auditing software-as-a-service providers and other outsourcers. Customers routinely ask providers for copies of their SAS 70 audit reports, and this is a good idea for you to do, too.” Fortunately, there are HCMS providers available that have a history of keeping your data compliant and secure. Some even go as far as compiling and completing PPACA compliance reports for you.