PPACA “Play or Pay”

PPACA “Play or Pay”

Delayed Until 2015

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a news release yesterday evening announcing a one-year delay, until January 1, 2015, of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act shared responsibility provisions that required employers with 50 or more full-time employees to offer them health care benefits or face financial penalties.

PPACA’s shared responsibility provisions, commonly referred to as “Play or Pay,” originally provided that large employers must offer their full-time employees affordable, minimum value health care coverage, or face penalties beginning January 1, 2014 for failing to do so if any of their full-time employees obtain subsidized health care coverage through an exchange.

The Treasury Department’s announcement states that these employer penalties “will not apply for 2014.  Any employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until 2015.” At this time, it appears the requirement to provide coverage and all other provisions of the law will still go into effect on January 1, 2014.

A copy of the U.S. Treasury Department news release is available at http://www.treasury.gov/ connect/blog/Pages/Continuing-to-Implement-the-ACA-in-a-Careful-Thoughtful-Manner-.aspx.  It is unclear how this announcement may impact the Treasury Department proposed “Play or Pay” regulations, which outlined the standards that large employers were to use to determine which employees must be offered health care coverage in order to avoid the financial penalties specified by the law.  Further regulatory guidance consistent with this announcement is expected in the near future, and we will provide updated information.

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, or wish to discuss potential personnel changes in light of this announcement, please feel free to contact any of KKAL’s labor and employment attorneys at (717) 392-1100.

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