Fargo INC! February 2016 | Page 13

ADVICE NEXT ADVICE ROSS MANSON HAS A LOT MORE THINGS ON HIS TO DO LIST THESE DAYS. AS THE PRINCIPAL IN CHARGE OF THE FARGO OFFICE OF EIDE BAILLY, ROSS OVERSEES THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS AND STRATEGY OF THE FARGO OFFICE, THE LARGEST OF EIDE BAILLY’S 29 OFFICES (IN 13 STATES), WHICH ALSO HOUSES THE FIRM’S HEADQUARTERS. IN ADDITION, HE WORKS IN EIDE BAILLY’S HEALTHCARE DEPARTMENT, ONE OF THE LARGEST DEPARTMENTS IN THE FIRM, PROVIDING CONSULTING ON THINGS SUCH AS OPERATIONS AND REVENUE CYCLES. AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH, HE HAS SPENT THE PAST FEW YEARS STUDYING, SPEAKING AND CONSULTING ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND ITS IMPACT ON BUSINESS. MANSON TOOK US THROUGH THE QUAGMIRE THAT HEALTHCARE HAS BECOME. I’M GOING TO TAKE A GUESS AND SAY YOUR JOB HAS GOTTEN A LOT MORE COMPLICATED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. ABOUT EIDE BAILLY Eide Bailly is a tax, accounting and CPA firm that has been around for almost 100 years. They work with their clients on services ranging from employee benefits to accounting services. EIDEBAILLY.COM “Absolutely. There’s no doubt that healthcare is highly regulated and highly political, so that brings a lot of different changes to the industry. And when an industry is under constant change from a regulatory perspective, there are a number of different facets that impact our practice and then being able to bring that back out to assist our client as well. It’s really hard for a lot of our clients to keep up with that, as they’re taking care of their patients on a day-to-day basis and understanding all the regulatory changes, too. That’s really where we can fill one of the gaps for them by providing service.” SAY YOU’RE SPEAKING TO A MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANY THAT DOESN’T OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE. WHAT WOULD BE SOME OF THE THINGS BUSINESS OWNERS SHOULD KNOW SINCE EVERYTHING'S CHANGED SO DRAMATICALLY? “Small to medium businesses, from a health care perspective, now they’re starting to get into that space where they need to figure out whether they’re going to offer healthcare insurance as a benefit or not. The dynamic that is out there under the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and the employer penalties and also the individual mandate is a new dynamic for businesses in how they approach that. “From a small business perspective, it’s really about taking a look at your talent and your resource pool and asking if that is a differentiator that is going to help you get the resources that you want and need. Now, from a small business perspective, there are different vehicles that you can go down to take a look at providing that coverage perspective. Health insurance still tends to be a benefit that people are wanting. That migration hasn’t happened as fast as some people were thinking, but then you also have the federal marketplace and – in some states – the state marketplace where individuals can go and get insurance.” ARE YOU FINDING THAT MORE BUSINESSES AREN’T OFFERING HEALTH INSURANCE? “I can’t say definitively that more businesses aren’t offering insurance. I think a number of businesses are continuing to look at the health insurance benefit and making sure that they’re, first of all, compliant with the rules and 11