Executive Orders related to the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) began being circulated last Saturday. More information is due to be released when the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is confirmed ... but not yet.
No-one yet knows how long the law will remain in effect. However it was made clear in the Executive Order that it is “Imperative for the executive branch to ensure that the law is being efficiently implemented”. It also stated that all executive departments should “take all actions consistent with the law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the ACA”. The order then mentions that there should be an effort to afford states more flexibility and control in order to create a more open healthcare market.
After the release of the Executive Order, many are still trying to determine what this all means. What will happen to the individual mandate? What does this mean for insurers? Will employers still have to comply with IRC section 6056? What about the exchanges? Before addressing these things it is imperative to first review some key language from the Executive Order itself.
Sec. 2. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies (agencies) with authorities and responsibilities under the Act shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.
Sec. 3. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Secretary and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the Act, shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to provide greater flexibility to States and cooperate with them in implementing healthcare programs.
Sec. 4. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the head of each department or agency with responsibilities relating to healthcare or health insurance shall encourage the development of a free and open market in interstate commerce for the offering of healthcare services and health insurance, with the goal of achieving and preserving maximum options for patients and consumers.
Sec. 5. To the extent that carrying out the directives in this order would require revision of regulations issued through notice-and-comment rulemaking, the heads of agencies shall comply with the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable statutes in considering or promulgating such regulatory revisions.
If any action is to be taken regarding loosening any rules this will most likely require new proposed regulations. This in turn is followed by a review and implementation period. On top of this the Democratic Party is not planning on “playing nice”. To sum it all up any changes will inevitably take some time. These things typically take a while (possibly years) even when they are noncontroversial.Many are wondering what this means for the employer mandate and therefore employer reporting. So far there has been no word specifically on this. One thing is for sure, until the Treasury Department announces something different the current law of the land still stands. This means that all employers should be prepared to furnish 1095Cs to employees by the end of February and also plan to have these filed with the IRS by the March deadlines.
No-one yet knows how long the law will remain in effect. However it was made clear in the Executive Order that it is “Imperative for the executive branch to ensure that the law is being efficiently implemented”. It also stated that all executive departments should “take all actions consistent with the law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens of the ACA”. The order then mentions that there should be an effort to afford states more flexibility and control in order to create a more open healthcare market.
After the release of the Executive Order, many are still trying to determine what this all means. What will happen to the individual mandate? What does this mean for insurers? Will employers still have to comply with IRC section 6056? What about the exchanges? Before addressing these things it is imperative to first review some key language from the Executive Order itself.
Sec. 2. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies (agencies) with authorities and responsibilities under the Act shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.
Sec. 3. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Secretary and the heads of all other executive departments and agencies with authorities and responsibilities under the Act, shall exercise all authority and discretion available to them to provide greater flexibility to States and cooperate with them in implementing healthcare programs.
Sec. 4. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the head of each department or agency with responsibilities relating to healthcare or health insurance shall encourage the development of a free and open market in interstate commerce for the offering of healthcare services and health insurance, with the goal of achieving and preserving maximum options for patients and consumers.
Sec. 5. To the extent that carrying out the directives in this order would require revision of regulations issued through notice-and-comment rulemaking, the heads of agencies shall comply with the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable statutes in considering or promulgating such regulatory revisions.
If any action is to be taken regarding loosening any rules this will most likely require new proposed regulations. This in turn is followed by a review and implementation period. On top of this the Democratic Party is not planning on “playing nice”. To sum it all up any changes will inevitably take some time. These things typically take a while (possibly years) even when they are noncontroversial.Many are wondering what this means for the employer mandate and therefore employer reporting. So far there has been no word specifically on this. One thing is for sure, until the Treasury Department announces something different the current law of the land still stands. This means that all employers should be prepared to furnish 1095Cs to employees by the end of February and also plan to have these filed with the IRS by the March deadlines.
RSS Feed