Obama Administration Delays Part of Health Law’s Employer Mandate

More Delays to Obama Care Personal MandateThe U.S. Government announced an additional delay of the employer mandate associated with the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) for certain medium sized employers. ACA is intended to extend health coverage to uninsured Americans, partly by imposing penalties on individuals and businesses not seeking coverage. Most individuals face a tax penalty for not having healthcare coverage in 2014.

In final regulations released on Monday, businesses with between 50 and 99 employees that are not already offering coverage will not face a penalty until 2016.

For businesses with 100 or more employees, the final rules reduce to 70 percent the number of full-time workers to whom an employer must offer coverage in 2015. Businesses are required to offer coverage to 95 percent of their employees in 2016 and beyond.

Additional safe harbors in the rules aim to make it easier for businesses to determine whether the coverage they offer is affordable to employees.

Contact our tax professionals at Langdon & Company LLP to learn more.