Then In this Dec. 9, 2008, file photo President-elect Barack Obama is seen after speaking about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich during his meeting with Vice President-elect Joe Biden and former Vice President Al Gore, both not pictured, in Chicago. On Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008, Obama joined others calling for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign, distancing himself further from the unfolding scandal over allegations that the governor schemed to barter Obama's vacant Senate seat for personal gain.
It's a weird move—and their explanation of the move is even weirder.
To hear Treasury tell it, the delay is all about simplifying reporting:
We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively... Just like the Administration’s effort to turn the initial 21-page application for health insurance into a three-page application, we are working hard to adapt and to be flexible about reporting requirements as we implement the law.
Treasury won't be releasing reporting requirements until later this summer, and then it will need to test the requirements, so it needs to wait a year before making them mandatory.
Then, almost as an "oh, by the way" addition, the Treasury statement adds that since reporting won't be mandatory in 2014, it can't actually impose any penalties on employers that don't provide health insurance until 2015.
The whole point of the employer mandate is to incent employers to offer health coverage to full-time workers. Firms might otherwise drop coverage and direct employees to buy through the insurance exchanges created under Obamacare.
That would be costly for taxpayers, as most workers will be eligible for subsidies to help them buy insurance in the exchanges, and often those subsidies will far exceed the value of the tax preferences given for employer-provided health insurance.
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