Q&A on impact of health law delay on businesses
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 2:21 pm, Wednesday, July 3, 2013
A one-year delay in a central part of the health care overhaul is likely to have its biggest impact on small and medium-sized businesses, not the number of people who will be gain health insurance coverage. The Obama administration said Tuesday that it would postpone until Jan. 1, 2015, the effective date of what's called the employer mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act. Treasury Assistant Secretary Mark Mazur said in a blog post that the government was responding to complaints about the law, which has many regulations and rules for businesses to follow. Congressional Budget Office forecasts show that most of the people who gain coverage are expected to do so either through an expansion of the state-federal Medicaid program that begins next year or by buying a policy through new health insurance exchanges slated to start operating this fall. The employer mandate mainly serves as a way to dissuade large employers from dumping their workers on the exchanges, where federal money might be used to help them buy coverage, Citi analyst Gary Taylor said in a research note, adding that it has little to do with the expansion of coverage. A. Under the health law, companies with 50 or more workers must provide affordable coverage to their full-time employees or risk a series of escalating tax penalties if just one worker ends up getting government-subsidized insurance. Ninety-eight percent of all companies with at least 200 workers provided health benefits to their employees last year, according to an annual survey done by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust. A. It's fair to say many are relieved — uncertainty over the costs of health insurance has contributed to their anxiety about their revenue and the economy, and to their reluctance to hire or expand. [...] the insurance companies' rates are learned, it's impossible to do the math and figure out whether you're going to buy insurance. [...] companies that are already providing insurance can shop on the exchanges for a better deal. [...] all companies with at least 50 workers can decide whether it's better for them economically to provide insurance, or, when the law goes into effect, forgo coverage and pay the government a $2,000 per employee penalty. Reported by SeattlePI.com 8 hours ago.
Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 2:21 pm, Wednesday, July 3, 2013
A one-year delay in a central part of the health care overhaul is likely to have its biggest impact on small and medium-sized businesses, not the number of people who will be gain health insurance coverage. The Obama administration said Tuesday that it would postpone until Jan. 1, 2015, the effective date of what's called the employer mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act. Treasury Assistant Secretary Mark Mazur said in a blog post that the government was responding to complaints about the law, which has many regulations and rules for businesses to follow. Congressional Budget Office forecasts show that most of the people who gain coverage are expected to do so either through an expansion of the state-federal Medicaid program that begins next year or by buying a policy through new health insurance exchanges slated to start operating this fall. The employer mandate mainly serves as a way to dissuade large employers from dumping their workers on the exchanges, where federal money might be used to help them buy coverage, Citi analyst Gary Taylor said in a research note, adding that it has little to do with the expansion of coverage. A. Under the health law, companies with 50 or more workers must provide affordable coverage to their full-time employees or risk a series of escalating tax penalties if just one worker ends up getting government-subsidized insurance. Ninety-eight percent of all companies with at least 200 workers provided health benefits to their employees last year, according to an annual survey done by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust. A. It's fair to say many are relieved — uncertainty over the costs of health insurance has contributed to their anxiety about their revenue and the economy, and to their reluctance to hire or expand. [...] the insurance companies' rates are learned, it's impossible to do the math and figure out whether you're going to buy insurance. [...] companies that are already providing insurance can shop on the exchanges for a better deal. [...] all companies with at least 50 workers can decide whether it's better for them economically to provide insurance, or, when the law goes into effect, forgo coverage and pay the government a $2,000 per employee penalty. Reported by SeattlePI.com 8 hours ago.