The legislators who signed the letter include Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and Michael C. Burgess, MD (R-Texas). The committee wants to better understand the administration’s decision-making process by gaining access to information such as who was involved in the decision and data explaining the mandate’s cost for businesses, according to a news release. The lawmakers set a Sept. 6 deadline for the Treasury to comply with their request.
Under the PPACA, businesses and companies with 50 or more employees are mandated to offer health insurance to those employees or pay a penalty. The rule was originally slated to begin January 2014. However, the federal government delayed the mandate’s implementation by one year to allow more time for simplifying reporting requirements and give the government more time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems.
Studies from the RAND Corporation and the Urban Institute have found the delay won’t have a significant impact on health insurance coverage.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the one-year delay will cost the federal government $12 billion, including $10 billion in uncollected penalty payments and a $3 billion increase in exchange subsidy costs. There will also be an increase in taxable compensation because of fewer people enrolling in employment-based coverage, offsetting those cost increases by approximately $1 billion, according to the CBO.
More Articles on the Employer Mandate Delay:
Employer Mandate Delay Will Have Minimal Effect on Coverage, Study Says
Employer Mandate Delay Will Cost Government $12B, CBO Says
In Symbolic Vote, House Votes to Delay PPACA Individual and Employer Mandates
