U.S. Chamber encouraging Treasury, IRS to minimize burdens on employers
By Blair Holmes
WASHINGTON (March 19, 2013) — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has created a new online calculator to help businesses determine if they will be subject to the employer mandate, and if so, help them predict their potential penalty if they cannot afford to buy coverage. By answering a few not-so simple questions, employers can start to understand how the employer mandate might impact them when it takes effect in 2014.
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Separately, the U.S. Chamber is urging the Treasury Department and the IRS to continue to work carefully and cooperatively with the business community to minimize burdens placed on employers as they work to comply with the new health care law.
In comments submitted to the agencies on March 18, the Chamber raised several concerns about substantive components of proposed regulations implementing the healthcare law, including:
- ♦ The challenge for employers to comply with a requirement that still remains opaque
- ♦ The challenge for employers in states that choose not to expand Medicaid eligibility
- ♦ The importance of encouraging wellness program participation when assessing affordability
- ♦ The difficulty in reflecting different industries standards as to what constitutes a seasonal worker
- ♦ Liability questions for businesses following corporate transactions. We believe that Treasury and IRS need to clarify certain other rules and as well as how the rules will apply in some special situations
The Chamber is calling on Treasury and IRS to quickly issue sub-regulatory guidance that provides:
- ♦ A one-year non-enforcement period to allow employers to work to comply with the requirement without fear of tremendous and potentially business eviscerating penalties
- ♦ An exemption that parallels the individual mandate penalty exemption for would-be Medicaid eligible individuals
- ♦ A clarification that all available premium discounts from possible wellness program participation may be considered in assessing the affordability of self-only premiums from the lowest cost coverage
- ♦ A good faith seasonal employee determination standard for employers, since the definition of seasonality varies from industry to industry
- ♦ Additional information as to the ability of employers to negotiate liability as part of their corporate transactions
- ♦ Further clarification on certain issues
- ♦Flexibility for employers in certain circumstances
Originally published March 2013. Reprinted by permission, freeenterprise.com, March 2013. Copyright© 2013, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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