HEALTHCARE/IRS/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Businesses are pushing back on the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to begin enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s employer insurance mandate, challenging penalties that run into the millions and asserting the agency is wrong to impose the fines.
The ACA imposes a penalty on employers with more than 50 workers who don’t provide qualifying coverage to employees, but the fines weren’t initially enforced. In November, the IRS said it would begin assessing penalties, starting with companies that failed to comply in 2015, when parts of the employer mandate first kicked in. That decision was made by IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, who served in the Obama administration, shortly before his term expired. Regardless of the agency’s leadership, however, it is expected to continue enforcing the policy as required by the ACA.
The IRS didn’t respond to a request for comment. The financial impact on businesses could be significant… Some health lawyers said the IRS lacks the authority to impose the assessments… The GOP-led Congress last year repealed the ACA’s individual mandate, which required most Americans to have insurance, as part of the tax-overhaul legislation.
Some businesses argue that the repeal of the individual mandate should also nullify the employer mandate, which was established partly to ensure consumers could meet their individual coverage requirements under the ACA.”
-Stephanie Armour, “Businesses Challenge IRS Bid to Start Enforcing Insurance Mandate,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 13, 2018 07:22pm