Whew! Key Obamacare changes delayed until Jan 2015

Newsflash: On July 3, businesses owners got an early Independence Day present: The feds delayed implementation of the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions (also known as “Play or Pay”) of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).  This is the provision that requires companies with 50 or more employees to offer affordable insurance.

The Obamacare Play or Pay provisions that have been delayed until January 1, 2015 include:

• Employer penalties for failure to provide qualifying health insurance (businesses with 50+ employees)
• Employer and insurer reporting requirements

The July 3rd announcement says stronger infrastructure and more clearly defined reporting procedures are needed before implementation. New guidance is expected soon to clarify what employers must do to comply in 2014 and beyond.

Still moving forward, however, are many of the other components of the health care law, such as:

• Marketplace reforms- which will generally lead to higher costs, taxes and fees for employers and employees
• The individual mandate provision- expected to drive greater participation in employer health plans
• The launch of state exchanges- which may increase reporting requirements for employers

I expect we’ll still be talking about this throughout  2014 as the regulations continue to fall into place. The recent announcement is just a reminder that “it ain’t over till it’s over”.

Dedicated to your (fully compliant) profits,  David

photo credit: tsevis via photopin cc