One main thing interns might not consider is if they are eligible to get healthcare benefits coverage from their employer when interning for the proposed company.  In previous years, this hasn’t even been a consideration but with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers with almost 50 or more employees working 30 hours or more per week must comply by the stipulations set forth by the ACA. This involves “full-time equivalent” workers which is set forth by dividing the number of full-time workers plus the combined number of part-time employee hours by 30.

Interviewer Shared Responsibility

If an interviewer has more than 50 FTE workers, it must give health insurance for its full-time staff members, or they will be compelled to pay a per-month “Employer Shared Responsibility Payment”, which is pretty hefty. This is a penalty assessed to employers that fail to comply with the ACA. For an individual to be considered full-time under the ACA, he or she must average more than 30 hours each week for a minimum of 120 days. The 120 days don’t have to be consecutive, but must appear during a 360-day period.

At its heart, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a set of health insurance reforms proposed to make healthcare more accessible to all Americans. The consequence of such accessibility to workers has caused an increase in responsibilities for employers. Not all employers, although, are affected by the requirements of ACA and not all interns are needed to be covered.

Fair Labor Standards Act for Healthcare Benefits

In case for a company to be needed to pay for healthcare benefits coverage, it must be for full-time workers. Independent contractors or unpaid interns aren’t considered, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, to be full-time employees. Although, if an internship is paid, there may be additional exclusions available.

For instance, “Seasonal employees” (those employed to work for a position that is customarily 6 months or less at approximately the same time each year), may also be excluded from the ACA. If your internship is unpaid, you may need to check the Department of Labor’s Guidelines for unpaid internships to make certain that your internship meets the 6 prong test for unpaid internships or learn more about the most recent ruling of the 2nd Circuit Court which uses different criteria when judging if an internship might be unpaid.

Additionally, according to the ACA parents are permitted to keep their kids on their health care insurance until the age of 26. Students covered by their parents’ insurance don’t require receiving coverage through their employer. On the other hand, if the parents’ healthcare is through a health maintenance organization (HMO), the student might not meet certain stipulations; such as, the need to get care through an in-network provider which could pose an issue if the student is working in another state. A student that gets an internship in another state may not be capable to get care unless they return home, which can be a real inconvenience for the student.

For students completing a paid internship and averaging almost 30 hours per week over the course of 120 days (doesn’t require being consecutive but must occur within a 360 day period), the employer might very well be required to pay for healthcare benefits for the intern.

If you’re a paid intern working for the summer and you meet all of the above stipulations, it is significant for you to check on your right to receive healthcare advantages from your employer.