(1)
Employer Medical Assistance
Wage Base. Except as otherwise provided for in
430 CMR 10.00, employer
medical assistance contributions are payable on the employer medical assistance
wage base, provided that remuneration paid to any employee during any quarter
in which the employer has fewer than six employees is not subject to the
contributions required by M.G.L. c. 149, § 189. Such remuneration is not
wages for purposes of the employer medical assistance wage base.
(2)
Liability of Newly Subject
Employers.
(a)
Exemption for Newly Subject Employers. To ease the
burden on newly formed businesses and organizations, any employer "newly
subject" as defined in M.G. L. c. 151A, § 14(i)(2) and(3), is exempt from
payment of employer medical assistance contributions until it has been an
employer for not less than 12 consecutive months.
(b)
Reduced Liability under
M.G.L. c. 149, § 189, for the Two Successive Calendar Years.
Employers otherwise liable for employer medical assistance contributions under
M.G.L. c. 149, § 189, whose "newly subject" status expires on the
preceding December 31
st shall make employer medical
assistance contributions as follows in the two subsequent calendar years:
First Calendar Year: 12% of the
employer medical assistance wage base.
Second Calendar Year: 24% of the
employer medical assistance wage base.
(3)
Employer Medical Assistance
Contributions Rates for Companies Involved in Ownership Changes.
430 CMR
10.08(4) provides instruction in determining the contribution rates
applicable under M.G. L. c. 149, § 189, for companies involved in a change
of ownership during the calendar year. In developing 430 CMR
10.08(4), the
Department was guided by the existing law governing rate-setting for
unemployment insurance contributions.
(a)
Acquisition. The following rate-setting and payment
procedures apply under M.G.L. c. 149, § 189, whenever an employer acquires
another employer during the calendar year, or acquires substantially all assets
of said employer:
If otherwise liable for contributions under M.G.L. c. 149,
§ 189, the acquiring employer retains its employer medical assistance
contributions rate for the remainder of the calendar year in which the
acquisition takes place. The acquiring employer is allowed "credit" for
employer medical assistance contributions paid by the acquired employer on
employee wages prior to the acquisition. Beginning the January
1st following the acquisition, the higher of the two
rate schedules that would have been applicable to the acquiring or acquired
employer shall become the effective rate.
Following the acquisition, if some portion of the acquired
employer still exists as a separate entity, that employer, if otherwise liable
for contributions under M.G.L. c. 149, § 189, continues with the same rate
that applied prior to the acquisition. Said employer would receive credit for
payments made prior to the acquisition for any employees who remain with that
employer.
(b)
Partial Successorship. If an employer acquires part of
the business, organization, or trade of another employer, the employer medical
assistance contribution rates of the two employers will remain unchanged as a
result of the ownership change. The acquiring company will not be credited with
payments remitted on wages paid by the former employer during the calendar
year.
(c)
Consolidation. If two or more employers merge to form
a new corporation, the new entity is not a "newly subject" employer within the
meaning of M.G.L. c. 149, § 189(d). For the year in which the
consolidation takes place, the higher of the employers' rate schedules prior to
consolidation will be applied to wages paid by the new entity. Contributions on
wages paid by the transferring employers during the calendar year in which the
consolidation takes place will be credited to the new entity.
(d)
Whole
Successorship. If an employing unit not subject to M.G.L. c. 151A
acquires an employer, the resulting entity is not considered "newly subject"
within the meaning of M.G.L. c. 149, § 189(d). The rate schedule of the
acquired firm applies to wages paid by the newly formed organization.
Contributions on wages paid by the acquired employer during the calendar year
in which the ownership change takes place will be credited to the new
entity.
