Employer Mandate Enforcement Delayed Until January 1, 2015

Valerie Jarrett Senior Advisor to President Obama published a White House Blog concerning the Employer Mandate required by The Affordable Care Act at 6:00 PM EDT on July 2, 2013.  She stated they have decided to revise and revamp the employer reporting process.  Some of the items in the reporting may be unnecessary for businesses that more than meet the minimum standards in the law. They will work with employers, insurers, and experts to propose a smarter system and, in the interim, suspend reporting for 2014. 

Second she stated since they are making changes to the reporting requirements they will need to give businesses more time to comply.  Since the employer responsibility payments can only be assessed based on this new reporting, payments for any penalties will not be collected for 2014.  This will allow employers the time to test the new reporting systems and make any necessary adaptations to their health benefits while staying the course toward making health coverage more affordable and accessible to their workers.

This did not actually change the law of the Affordable Care Act Law only the enforcement of the Employer Mandate Provision.  The administration expects to fully enforce the employer mandate provision beginning on January 1, 2015.