Employer Health Care Reporting Postponement

The effective date of the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been postponed until January 1, 2015.  The mandate was originally scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2014.  This provision requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide affordable health care insurance for employees that work an average of 30 or more hours per week. 

In a statement from the Treasury Department the postponement is designed to “provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are moving towards making health coverage affordable and accessible.”  In addition to the requirement to provide affordable health care, the reporting requirements have also been postponed.

A majority of larger companies across the nation should not be affected by the delay. These companies generally offer health insurance that meets the ACA’s requirements. Industries with a high proportion of part-time employees may need the additional time to provide health care insurance to part-time workers who fall under the mandate.

This delay will give businesses more time to make the required changes to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s complex requirements.  For more information on the delays, please visit the Houston Business Journal.