News Releases

Sen. Moran Statement on Administration Delaying Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate

"While the Administration finally admitted that the employer mandate is unworkable in 2014, it now must recognize that the real problem continues to be the entire Affordable Care Act."

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s decision to delay the Affordable Care Act employer mandate:

“While the Administration finally admitted that the employer mandate is unworkable in 2014, it now must recognize that the real problem continues to be the entire Affordable Care Act. Implementation of the ACA has not lowered costs or increased access as promised. Individuals, families and employers still face increasing health insurance costs, new taxes overseen by what we have recently learned is a politically-biased IRS, burdensome mandates, and massive uncertainty because of this flawed law. The best course of action is to dismantle the ACA and replace it with practical reforms that are workable and will actually reduce health care costs.”

The employer mandate provision included in the President’s $2.6 trillion health law requires businesses of 50 employees or more to provide a prescribed level of health insurance or pay a penalty between $2,000 and $3,000 for each employee working 30 hours or more a week. This mandate is expected to lead to an estimated 3.2 million lost jobs, according to the nonpartisan Hudson Institute.

In March, Sen. Moran sponsored the American Job Protection Act, which would repeal the provisions in the ACA that require employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees to provide health insurance for their employees in 2014 or face a tax increase that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found would hit employers with $150 billion in new taxes over eleven years. 

While the employer mandate has now been delayed until 2015, the requirement has already pushed many employers to keep their staffs below 50 or hire part-time workers to avoid the mandate. According to a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 72 percent of small business owners said that the health care law would make it harder for them to hire. The small business owners also reported that, in addition to limiting hiring, the new law might force them to reduce the size of their business. For example, respondents reported considering making workers stay less than 30 hours a week or replacing them with temporary or part-time workers. A significant number reported the likelihood of canceling insurance coverage for employees, as paying the penalty would be less expensive for their company.

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