(Paycore) The “pay or play” provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has been delayed until 2015, according to an announcement from the Treasury Department on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. The provision requires employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees to provide health coverage to their full-time employees or face penalties.
Over the past several months, employers have been voicing concerns that the reporting requirements are too complex, and that they need more time to understand them and determine how to comply.
“We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so. We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action,” said Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark J. Mazur.
The Treasury Department says that having an extra year to implement this requirement will give the government more time to explore ways to simplify the reporting processes. Large employers who choose not to provide health coverage will not have to pay the $2,000 per employee per year penalty until 2015.
However, this postponement does not affect other provisions of PPACA, including the federal and state health insurance exchanges.
This delay means your business now has more time to determine how to comply. To make sure you are tracking the employee data you will need to make decisions and fulfill reporting requirements, it is critical to put a time and attendance system in place by January 1, 2014.
For more information, contact Deborah Helton, CPA, at (719) 579-9090.