New Legislation Takes Aim at the Employer Mandate
After managing to jettison the individual mandate requiring U.S. adults to carry health coverage, efforts are afoot in Congress to do away with the Affordable Care Act employer mandate, although there seem to be mixed views on the reality of the legislation making it to the president’s desk.
One bill, HR 4616, is currently in the House Ways and Means Committee awaiting further amendments before a vote can be made on it. The measure would suspend penalties for the employer mandate for 2015 through 2019, as well as postpone implementation of the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans for one more year, until 2022.Read More
Fallout from GOP Tax Bill on Health Coverage
The GOP’s tax bill, which seems on its way to passage in Congress and eventual enactment, will have a number of spillover effects on the health insurance markets, for commercial and individual policies alike.
To get more Republicans on board, the Senate leadership added a provision that eliminates penalties for individuals who do not secure health coverage either through their employers or on their own on publicly run exchanges.Read More