Bill to exempt more small employers from ACA coverage mandate introduced

Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives last week would exempt thousands of small employers from a key healthcare reform law provision that will require employers to offer coverage or pay a stiff fine.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective in 2014, employers with 50 or more full-time employees will have to provide qualified coverage or pay a $2,000 penalty for each full-time employee, minus the first 30 employees.

Under H.R. 2577, introduced last week by Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., that requirement to either offer coverage or pay a financial penalty would only apply to employers with at least 100 full-time employees.

“Small businesses should be protected from the impact” of the healthcare reform law's mandates and taxes, Rep. Messer said in a statement.

The bill was immediately backed by the National Retail Federation in Washington.

“Expanding the definition of a 'large employer' to 100 employees would protect a wider range of small businesses and retailers and allow them to grow and hire more workers. An employer should never have to choose between hiring an additional employee or paying a penalty,” David French, NRF's senior vice president for government relations, said in a statement.

Rep. Messer's bill is the latest in a legislative salvo intended to pare back rather than repeal the PPACA. Last month, for example, bills were introduced in the House and Senate that would ease the law's definition of a full-time employee, shielding more employers from the law's $2,000 per-employee penalty if they do not offer coverage.

Bill to exempt more small employers from ACA coverage mandate introduced originally appeared on Crain's Business Insurance.