On July 2, 2013, the White House announced that it would delay enforcement of the requirement that certain business provided health insurance to their employees. The Affordable Care Act provision, commonly referred to as the ‘employer mandate’, requires large employers to offer affordable, qualifying health insurance to their employees or pay a penalty.
The penalties for non-compliance were originally scheduled to go into effect in 2014. However, business groups had objected to the provision, citing concerns about the reporting requirements needed to enforce the mandate. In response to these concerns, the White House announced that it would suspend the reporting requirement for 2014, which necessitated delaying enforcement of the penalties until January 1, 2015. The other provisions of the Affordable Care Act such as the establishment of state exchanges and the “individual mandate” are still scheduled to go into effect in 2014.
If you would like to read the White House’s announcement in its entirety, it can be downloaded at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/07/02/we-re-listening-businesses-about-health-care-law.