In the health care industry, this question has been asked more than any other after the election. So rather than guess what might happen, we should first address the question of what employers and health care professionals should do in the near term.
The short answer is that the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land and the election results have no effect on the current employer mandate, information reporting requirements, and whether penalties will be assessed for failure to comply. There have been a number of opinions expressed on what might happen; however, until ACA is repealed, replaced, defunded, or amended by new legislation, this is just conjecture on what the Congress and the President might do. Regardless of any future proposed legislation, the ACA reporting requirements are still in effect for 2017 (tax year 2016).
One very important fact remains; since ACA became law in 2010 and was implemented in 2014, attempting to make changes to it will require careful analysis of those provisions that need to be retained, changed, or eliminated. This won't happen with the wave of a magic wand. While there remains a lot of speculation as to the extent of “repeal and replace”, the Employer Mandate provision will still be in effect until a new law is passed.
The only logical conclusion that can be reached right now is that the only way to ensure that you will NOT be subject to penalties is to continue to comply with the Affordable Care Act.
PRO-WARE Technical Support Staff
PRO-WARE, LLC
3909 South 147 Street, Suite 134
Omaha, NE 68144
402.861.8800