For those interested, here’s the official blog post from the U.S. Treasury Department yesterday about the one-year delay in the employer requirement.
It is important to prevent confusion: coverage expansions are not delayed, nobody has lost access to coverage or financial assistance with this announcement, and a one-year delay should have minimal or no impact on the success of the ACA.
But while we can easily debunk ACA opponents who claim that this phasing-in of the employer requirement means disaster, we should be clear that the employer mandate is important, for workers and families, especially in the long term for taxpayers. We need to keep the pressure that this provision needs to go into effect in 2015, that the delay should not be any longer than one year.
We need an employer responsibility provision to stabilize decades-long erosion in on-the-job benefits, provide level-playing field for employers, and prevent shifts of health costs onto taxpayer-funded programs.
Here’s some news articles on the issue which includes our comments:
* California says mandate delay won’t affect exchange Los Angeles Times
* California’s health care exchanges not harmed by ruling, officials say Sacramento Bee
* Obama Administration Delays Employer Mandate For One Year KQED
* Obamacare rule delay raises concerns Sacramento Business Journal
* Obamacare’s troubling, stumbling start Los Angeles Times
* Officials Say Employer Mandate Delay Will Not Hinder ACA in Calif. California Healthline