Congressional actions jump following ACA delay

Delays in key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last weeklast week are spawning congressional actions this week.

The Obama administration's surprise July 2 announcement that it will delay for one year the requirement that large employers provide qualifying insurance coverage for their workers or face tax penalties spurred told-you-sos from Republicans in Congress. This week, congressional critics of the 2010 healthcare law will start delving into how the delay came about and potential problems it could cause.

The marquee event this week on the mandate delay is Wednesday's hearing by the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. The panel's hearing is expected to promote existing legislation to repeal the employer mandate. Such legislation is expected to have little or no chance of passing the Senate or receiving President Barack Obama's signature.

A related issue that could come up at the hearing is the July 5 delay in the income and insurance coverage verification for health insurance exchange applicants. That delay came as much of official Washington was gone for the Independence Day weekend.

Separately, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is leading an investigation into what business sector players were involved in the decision to delay the mandate. Upton wrote Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to request information on what outside groups and individuals were involved with the decision.

Other members of Congress looking into the delay include Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. He has requested an opinion from the Congressional Research Service on whether the delay is legal, since the statute specified that the mandate was supposed to start on Jan. 1, 2014. An investigation by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee also is possible since Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the panel's chairman, similarly questioned the legality of the delay.

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