5 Ways CIOs Need to Prepare for Obamacare

Related: Why SaaS HR Software Is Ready to Take Off

Payroll systems should be calibrated so that local field managers and human resources personnel can generate a report that shows actual hours worked, Lukin says. State exchanges will start requiring these reports in spring of 2016 to be both accurate and easily accessible.

4. Manage the Overall Technology Change

There's a temptation, even in a large company, to "bench" the CIO when it comes to complex legal and healthcare legislation. Often, new health legislation is left for the human resources department to control. But the Affordable Care Act, and its emphasis on the increased use of technology, makes this situation different.

Oliver McGee, a Howard University professor who served on the Clinton administration as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation, says the CIO has to lead the charge in how a company connects to the state exchanges, in any technology spending related to healthcare and in how the healthcare policies are implemented in IT.