Susan Jones
CNSNews
2/11/2014
Once again acting without Congress, President Obama has unilaterally changed his signature health insurance law, delaying its employer mandate – the second time he’s done this — to 2016, after the mid-term elections.
BUT: To be eligible for the additional delay, the Obama administration says an employer “may not reduce the size of its workforce or the overall hours of service of its employees” unless it can justify those reductions to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Affordable Care Act, as passed by Congress, says companies with more than 50 full-time-equivalent employees must provide “minimum essential coverage” starting on Jan. 1, 2014 or pay a fine.
On Monday, the administration issued new regulations saying that employers with 50 to 99 workers don’t need to provide minimum essential coverage until 2016 – two years beyond what’s written in the law.
And large employers (those with 100 or more workers) must provide coverage to only 70 percent of their workers in 2015.
But the regulations also say that effective yesterday, employers may not shed employees or work hours just to get below the 100-employee threshold – and thus avoid Obamacare’s penalties for another full year.
One scholar called the latest changes “Orwellian.”…
The article continues at CNSNews.com
Related: via Investors.com where readers may view the full-sized image
Why the Obamacare Mandate Delay Is a Big Deal
…Well, outside of wonk world there’s the real world, where President Obama clearly thinks the mandate matters. In July he suspended it (for all employers) until 2015, even though the law says it should have taken effect on January 1. Now he’s unilaterally giving certain mid-sized employers another year to comply. If he thinks the mandate is workable, then bring it on and let’s find out.
But Kliff misses the larger point. The president doesn’t have the power to amend bits of laws he doesn’t like…
Update: Not ACA, but you get the idea: Claims: Obama administration’s new nonprofit rules violate the Paperwork Reduction Act
The Obama administration violated federal law with its new proposed IRS rule for nonprofit groups and for making a false statement about that rule, according to claims by multiple attorneys reviewed by The Daily Caller.
The administration’s extensive new IRS rule for 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups was secretly devised by disgraced former IRS official Lois Lerner and other Obama administration officials while the IRS was targeting conservative nonprofit groups between 2010 and 2012.
The rule, which contains many provisions, would place much more stringent controls on what would be considered political activity by the IRS, effectively limiting the standard practices of a wide array of nonprofit groups…
…The Paperwork Reduction Act, passed in 1980 and amended in 1995 during the House speakership of Newt Gingrich, requires government agencies to estimate its new programs’ paperwork burden for the public before receiving Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval…
Update 2: Video, Kirsten Powers: I’m Tired of Defending Incompetent President
…Some lawmakers, though, have claimed that the mere threat of the employer mandate is causing companies to shed full-time workers in the hope of keeping their staff size below 50 and avoiding the requirement.
Administration officials dispute that this is happening on any large scale. Further, Treasury officials said Monday that businesses will be told to “certify” that they are not shedding full-time workers simply to avoid the mandate. Officials said employers will be told to sign a “self-attestation” on their tax forms affirming this, under penalty of perjury.
Attest that you didn’t do something you have a right to do — and if you’re lying you go to jail. How about that?…
