Delay Announced for Key Affordable Healthcare Act Provisions

Yesterday afternoon, the Treasury Department announced that employers with more than 50 full time equivalent employees will have an additional year before they must comply with the mandatory reporting requirements involving healthcare insurance coverage. Since penalties and shared responsibility payments cannot be determined without the required reports, the government will not collect penalties in 2014 from employers that otherwise would have had to begin providing coverage or face penalties, and the coverage mandates will not go into effect until January 1, 2015. However, businesses are encouraged to move forward with their compliance efforts before the new implementation date for reporting takes effect. The stated reason for the delay is to find ways to further simplify the reporting process, with the Administration acknowledging that some of the detailed reporting may be unnecessary for businesses that more than meet the minimum standards in the law. The hope is that, by giving businesses more time to comply, employers will have the time needed to test the new reporting systems and make appropriate changes to their health benefits. Formal guidance will be published within the next week, according to the Treasury Department, which added that it expects to publish proposed rules implementing the reporting provisions this summer. Once the rules are issued, the Administration said it will work with employers, insurers, and other reporting entities to strongly encourage them to voluntarily implement the information reporting in 2014, in preparation for the full application of the provisions in 2015. The individual mandates relating to obtaining coverage are not affected by this decision, meaning that self-employed individuals and others who would not be covered by an employer that is subject to the Act's mandates must still obtain coverage or face penalties.  

The material in this blog is not intended, nor should it be construed or relied upon, as legal advice. Please consult with an attorney if specific legal information is needed.

- Jill Jensen-Welch