Health Insurance Enforcement Delayed Again for Some Employers

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration announced Monday that it would again delay enforcement of a federal requirement for certain employers to provide health insurance to employees, giving medium-size companies extra time to comply.

The 'employer mandate,' which was supposed to take effect last month, was delayed to Jan. 1, 2015, and now the administration will allow a phase-in beyond that date for some businesses with more than 50 employees. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees were already exempt.

Under the Affordable Care Act, larger employers are generally subject to tax penalties if they fail to offer 'minimum essential coverage' to full-time employees and their dependents.

The administration laid out a three-tier approach.

For larger employers with 100 or more employees (about 2 percent of employers): Seventy percent of employees must be offered coverage in 2015, and in later years at least 95 percent of employees must be offer coverage. Employers that do not meet these standards will be subject to tax penalties.

For employers with 50 to 99 employees (about 2 percent of employers): Companies with 50 to 99 employees will have an extra year, until 2016, to provide coverage or pay tax penalties.

For small businesses with fewer than 50 employees (about 96 percent of all employers): These companies will not be required to provide coverage or fill out any forms in any year.

Graphic: Changes and Delays to the Health Law