The health insurance reporting requirements for employers with over 50 employees was pushed back until 2015. This one-year extension was authorized by the White House. The original requirement was part of the Affordable Care Act. The announcement was made on Valerie Jarrett’s blog and outlined the need for more time to revamp and simplify the reporting process, as well as provide businesses more time to comply with the requirement.
The blog post listed a summary of the changes, which are as follows.
- If you are a small business with less than 50 workers, the law’s employer shared responsibility policies does not apply to you. Instead, you will gain access to the Small Business Health Options Program that gives you the purchasing power of large businesses. In fact, you may be eligible for a tax credit that covers up to half the cost of insurance if you offer quality coverage to your employees
- If you own a business with more than 50 workers that already offers full-time workers affordable, quality coverage, you are fine – we’ll work with you to keep that coverage affordable.
- And if you are a company with more than 50 employees but choose not to offer quality affordable coverage, we have provided as much flexibility and transition time as possible for you to move to providing affordable, quality coverage to your workers.
The decision for the delay has been received with mixed feelings. While some employers see this as a step toward having more time to prepare, others such as hospitals are concerned that uninsured patients will continue to seek ER care, possibly to costing hospitals ongoing write offs.
In addition to the concerns of some hospitals, a letter has been sent by the House to the secretary of HHS and the treasury department requesting additional information on the process used to decide on the extension.