The Obama Administration has announced that it will delay the implementation of the employer mandate until 2015. The mandate, a key component of the Affordable Care Act, would have penalized employers with more than 50 employees if they fail to provide a minimum standard of affordable health insurance by 2014. Companies now have an extra year to adjust their policies to meet the law’s requirements.
The delay allows the Obama Administration time to address concerns among business owners, the vast majority of which already provide coverage to their employees. Companies complained that the reporting requirements create an administrative burden. The Administration is examining ways to allegedly simplify the process to reduce the burdens of the employer mandate on smaller companies and to ensure businesses do not follow through on threats of layoffs or reduced hours.
The so-called individual mandate is not affected by the rule change, and still requires the vast majority of Americans to purchase insurance or be penalized.
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