Obama Administration Pushes Back Part Of Health Law

July 3, 2013

Businesses with more than 50 employees got a one-year reprieve Tuesday from a controversial part of the federal Affordable Care Act that calls for them to provide health insurance to workers — or face potential penalties.

The requirement was scheduled to take effect in 2014, but the Obama administration announced that it would be pushed back to 2015.

“We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy, wrote in a post on the U.S. Treasury Department website. “We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so. We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action.”

The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, seeks to spur large employers to offer coverage as a way to help insure most Americans. Smaller firms do not face the same penalties.

Comments

9 Responses to “Obama Administration Pushes Back Part Of Health Law”

  1. JimD on July 7th, 2013 10:36 am

    Of course it had everything to do with the mid-term elections. If it happened this year, the republicans would be talking about all of the problems, loss of jobs and the cost of insurance rates increasing. The Democrats would be trying to cover their butts, distancing themselves from anything to do with Obama-care.

    Now the Dem’s can talk about how they are going to correct the policy (i guess by reading the bill now it is law). And trying to make corrections….just keep me in and will fix it for you Obama, with all of his problems (IRS, NSA, Benghazi..etc), we can hope is all but finished.

    When employers start either dropping employees or their hours down to below 29 hours a week; to keep from paying for health care if they employee 50 or more people. Full time employment will be a thing of the past.

    The public will begin to see what Obama-care and Obama is willing to do to this country, just to pass his agenda. See how well everything is working in Chicago, and Illinois (his representative state). Three of the past state governors are in federal prison, the state is bankrupt, gas was $4.65 per gallon in downtown Chicago in mid May. This is a microcosm of what American has to look forward to.

  2. jcellops on July 3rd, 2013 10:45 am

    agree strongly with the previous posters- its obvious that this orchestrated decision by the white house was soley for strategic reasons–> mid term elections and obamas declining pole numbers….hopefully, the “uninformed” voters will finally look beyond their noses to see the big picture of what our president has done to us with his pride and joy obamacare…nonetheless, it still wont reduce my current INCREASED cost of health insurance…the cow is already out of the barn…i feel very sorry for many of my co-workers who just got eleminated from their jobs (regardless of their expertise or length of service)….perhaps it would not have happened (at least for another year) if obama had addressed the obvious six months ago, or so….prob too busy trying to scurry around and cover HIS and his trusted leaders rear ends, in ight of the MULTIPLE white house scandals that are currently ongoing.

  3. Jay on July 3rd, 2013 8:43 am

    You will notice that this does not do away with the individual mandate. Look out for your taxes (paying for insurance) to go Up! That way the IRS will still have you on their puppet string!

  4. jeeperman on July 3rd, 2013 8:27 am

    So maybe our hours will not be reduced to less than 30 hours per week in order for employers to dodge the requirements and penalties.
    At least until next year.

  5. Sam on July 3rd, 2013 6:06 am

    First big sign that obamcare dont work. It will fail. A total waste.

  6. Stu Rang on July 3rd, 2013 5:32 am

    All of obamacare should be dumped, but it is, sadly, now law and so it nor any part of it can be negated, altered or changed in any way by the executive branch. Any changes must be made by congress. Just another example of this guy trying to do something that’s not within his power while at the same time ignoring that which is his duty.

  7. EJ on July 3rd, 2013 5:31 am

    I’m sure it has nothing to do with the 2014 elections.

  8. Oak Grove Bud on July 3rd, 2013 4:21 am

    Well well…..probably has something to do with 2014 being the mid-term election year.

  9. bin on July 3rd, 2013 2:33 am

    just to snow everybody till after elections!