The Obama administration announced yesterday it will not penalize businesses that do not provide health insurance in 2014.
Instead, it will delay enforcement of a major Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that all employers with more than 50 employees provide coverage to their workers until 2015. The administration said it would postpone the provision after hearing significant concerns from employers about the challenges of implementing it.
Senator Marco Rubio this morning reiterated his position that Obamacare should not simply be delayed but repealed.
“This is a remarkable acknowledgment by the Obama Administration that ObamaCare is a disaster in progress that will hurt job creators and those looking for work,” said Rubio. “The solution to ObamaCare is not to delay the day when the Internal Revenue Service comes after struggling American businesses who cannot afford to provide Washington mandated health coverage. The solution is to repeal it entirely.”
Other members of Florida’s congressional delegation have also spoken out in reaction to the delay of Obamacare’s employer mandate.
“I continue to oppose the new health care law and will work with my colleagues to find ways to repeal and replace it with commonsense reforms that truly address the challenges of our nation’s health care system,” said Congressman Gus Bilirakis.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal notes the move “doesn’t involve the penalties that some individuals may pay starting in the 2014 tax year if they choose to go without health insurance.”
