The U.S. Treasury Department announced yesterday that the Affordable Care Act’s “Pay-or-Play” mandate is being delayed one year to 2015. The mandate requires larger employers (50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents) to provide health insurance to all employees or face yearly penalties. The regulations implementing the mandate have not yet been finalized, and the Treasury cited concerns of business owners about the law’s reporting requirements as the reason for the delay.
The ACA’s other deadlines are not affected by this announcement. For example, employers will still need to provide information to their employees about the health insurance exchanges by October 1, 2013, and individuals will still need to purchase health insurance by January 1, 2014 or face a penalty.
