One of the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been put on the backburner, as the Obama administration announced it would delay the employer insurance mandate one year to 2015.
Under the PPACA, businesses and companies with 50 or more employees are mandated to offer health insurance to those employees or pay a penalty. The rule was originally slated to begin January 2014.
However, in a post on the Department of Treasury's website, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur said the government decided to delay the implementation of this requirement by one year for two reasons.
The administration said the delay will allow the government to find "ways to simplify the new reporting requirements consistent with the law." In addition, delaying the employer coverage mandate will give the government more time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems, Mr. Mazur wrote.
The government expects to publish proposed rules and more detailed information on the PPACA's employer coverage mandate this summer after White House officials meet with large employers and other "stakeholders." From there, the mandate is expected to be tested and then implemented in 2015.
"Once these rules have been issued, the administration will work with employers, insurers and other reporting entities to strongly encourage them to voluntarily implement this information reporting in 2014, in preparation for the full application of the provisions in 2015," Mr. Mazur wrote. "Real-world testing of reporting systems in 2014 will contribute to a smoother transition to full implementation in 2015."
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