It's a big deal that the Obama administration is now delaying the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act. The mandate states that businesses with greater that 50 full time employees must provide affordable health insurance or face a stiff fine of up to 3000 per employee. This mandate was one of the strongest financial underpinnings necessary to make the ACA work, and will now be delayed at least one more year. It meant that businesses would share the cost of health insurance along with the federal government and individuals. The bottom line is that states and the federal government are in no way prepared to deal with the documentation and verification nightmare that looms ahead. Especially Illinois, that can can ill afford the increased costs involved in massive Medicaid expansion. Due to public demand, the paper application for obtaining individual/family insurance on the Insurance Marketplace (and qualifying for subsidies and Medicaid) was also shortened from 61 pages to a 3 page form that will make fraudulent reporting of income when applying for insurance a much easier thing to do. The federal government has also decided to wave income verification for the first year, hoping to catch up with individuals when they report on their 2014 tax returns. Penalties for fraudulent reporting will be approximately 25,000, as well as return of subsidy monies, penalties and interest. It will, however be easier to misrepresent your income, and hard to prosecute, which will undermine the entire system.
As more and more problems in the skeletal structure of the ACA become apparent, the news this week may have signaled a pivotal turn in the viability of the new health care reform law. Stay tuned for more signs that the Affordable Care Act is unraveling, and what it will mean to the uninsured, hospitals, care providers and the future of our country.
