In a little over a year the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act is slowly starting to unravel. There was little chance it would stay as written until full enactment, but changes to date are surprising, at least to me. There have been waivers for certain employer plans and for the states. Medicare Advantage Plans have gotten back some of what was taken away, the requirement to file form 1099 for all transactions is gone as are the free choice vouchers and some of the funding for non-profit health plans.
With the most significant provisions not going into effect until 2014 and a presidential election between now and then, it is impossible for employers and insurers to count on much of anything. Planning is becoming virtually impossible.
The chipping away and political accommodation strategies of both parties will have their consequences. This is not a good thing.
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