On January 20, 2017, President Trump’s first official day in office, he signed an Executive Order titled “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Appeal.”
While this Executive Order makes no practical change to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), it sets a clear intention, on the part of the Trump Administration, to “seek the prompt repeal” of the ACA.
In the meantime, while the promised repeal is pending, the Executive Order directs that all actions be taken to minimize the “economic and regulatory burdens” of the ACA. More specifically, the Executive Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of other executive departments and agencies to exercise their authority and discretion to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision of the ACA that would impose a financial burden on, among others, states, individuals, families, and health care providers.
In addition to addressing financial burdens, the Executive Order also directs, to the extent possible, that each department or agency head encourage an open and free market for interstate commerce in the offering of healthcare services and insurance.
So…what does this mean for you, as business leaders?
First and foremost, it is important to know that the Executive Order does not change the law. That being said, this Executive Order indicates that there may, at the very least, be some indirect relief from the employer shared responsibility tax. The shared responsibility tax, being based both on whether an employee was offered affordable insurance and on whether the employee qualifies for the premium tax credit, is far more likely to be assessed when individuals are placed under the squeeze of the individual mandate. So, while employers are not specifically listed under the groups that President Trump is offering relief to, the offering of relief to individuals may have an impact on the tax burden to employers.
These days, the frontiers of health care are best classified as a “wild west” for both business and individual taxpayers. While nothing has concretely changed, this Executive Order is a sign of change to come.
Stay Tuned!
The Eastern Pennsylvania Employment Log (EPELog) is a publication of the KingSpry Employment Law Practice Group. Jeffrey T. Tucker, Esquire, is our editor-in-chief. EPELog is meant to be informational and does not constitute legal advice.
