2013
It’s all rather complicated, but here is the short and sweet of it. Obamacare requirements are not actually suspended, what is suspended is reporting requirements and hence any near term hope of enforcement.
Employers don’t have to report to the government and neither do insurance companies, so if you are eligible for a health insurance exchange come 2014 because your employer does not offer coverage or charges you too much for coverage it offers, nobody will really know.
If you are eligible or ineligible for a tax subsidy because of your income and family status, nobody will really know.
And because reporting by insurance companies is also suspended, nobody will really know if you have health insurance as required by the Affordable Care Act. By default this seems to mean the mandate to carry insurance is also “suspended” though technically it is not.
What do you think are the chances that the average employer, insurer and American is in a clear state of confusion? I think that is a good bet and unfortunately undermines confidence in the Law.
We can cut the bureaucrats some slack here; this was a massive job in a short time frame, just ask your employer or insurance company about the time, money and effort it has invested over the last two years. On the other hand, the bottom line is a massive change in the health care system in the U. S. will be operating on the honor system for its first year.
What we should be concerned about is the transition back to full compliance once the systems are operational. I’m guessing nobody will be happy.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
What’s to stop the it’s from looking at your 2013 and 2014 and 2015 inbox 12 dd and your box 1 each year, then targeting you for audit ? Particularly if you had the same employer. Every $ paid in error in 2014 can be subject to collection in the future, particularly if r’s take over
LikeLike
Not a thing, not a thing. That’s why it will be so interesting when they get it sorted out and attempt to make corrections.
Dick
Richard D Quinn Editor
http://www.quinnscommentary.com
Health Insurance Illuminated http://blog.horizonblue.com/
LikeLike
They suspend BOTH the reporting requirement and the shared responsibility payments for one year.
From the US Treasury’s announcement of the delay (http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/pages/continuing-to-implement-the-aca-in-a-careful-thoughtful-manner-.aspx):
“We recognize that this transition relief will make it impractical to determine which employers owe shared responsibility payments (under section 4980H) for 2014. Accordingly, we are extending this transition relief to the employer shared responsibility payments. These payments will not apply for 2014. Any employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until 2015.”
Obamacare required large employers (over 50 full time) to report the health insurance statues of their employees and to pay penalties if the employer didn’t offer health insurance or didn’t offer affordable and sufficient health insurance (as defined by Obamacare). These penalties or payments will not take affect until 2015.
Since it is perfectly legal for an employer to pay the penalty rather than offer health insurance, and the penalty has been delayed for one year, then NOT ONLY is the reporting requirement delayed but also effectively the employer mandate itself (again the mandate is EITHER to provide health insurance OR pay the penalty but with the penalty delayed for one year there is no longer a mandate — the OR is null).
Every news organization has been reporting that the employer mandate has been delayed for one year and they are right.
David
LikeLike
Just keep it going until after the 2014 elections, then let reality set in.
LikeLike
That may backfire if there is widespread confusion and growing dissatisfaction between now and then.
LikeLike